The Blue & White Virginia Celebration Scarf

This scarf brings to life, once again, the image in our Virginia Celebration Shawl …. but in a new way. And, it is the third item of wearable history created as a fundraiser for Wilton House Museum.

The recreated design is presented in a blue and white color scheme which is both more contemporary and historic at the same time. The blue and white scheme is reminiscent of the extremely popular blue and white Chinese porcelain used by our colonial Virginia ancestors.

During the Yuan dynasty the Chinese invented the kiln technology used to create the pure white porcelain through firing at extremely high temperatures. The color blue was derived from cobalt, a mineral, which arrived in China through Persian merchants trading with the Middle East and Europe on the Silk Road.

By the end of the 16 th century Chinese blue and white porcelain was being exported directly to Europe. In the 17th and 18th centuries, “Oriental” blue and white porcelain was in high demand in Europe and in the American colonies and a wide variety of shapes and styles were created to feed the demand.

Our own Randolph’s, owners of Wilton, owned Chinese export items. The 1815 inventory of William Randolph shows that the family had a marked preference for Chinese export porcelain. The inventory lists 82 “China plates” which is indicative of the popularity of the blue and white china in the mid- 18 th and early 19 th centuries. We are fortunate to have discovered many blue and white porcelain items at Wilton’s original site located 12 miles east of the current location on the James River.

Most notably,

this Chinese export porcelain coffee cup which is currently on display in Wilton’s dining room.

This cup is the only completely reconstructed Randolph family ceramic in the Wilton House Museum collection. It was recovered from the original site during the 1998 William and Mary Center for Archaeological Research excavation. Although it is the only fully-mended surviving piece it represents

the popular ceramic imports from East Asia, particularly China. These ceramics were made for Western markets and symbolized wealth and cultural interest. This cup features common Chinese design motifs, including hand-painted peonies, fretwork gates, and rock patterns. The darker lines on the cup and pink splotches are overglaze hand-painted details added after firing, which strengthen its design and value at the time.

Over two thousand and fifty artifacts were uncovered during the 1974 and1997 archaeology digs. Many fragments of Chinese export porcelain (all blue & white) were discovered. In fact, 14 of the 58 ceramic vessels from the 1974 dig were porcelain.

These Matching pieces of recovered hand-painted porcelain shards are just a few of the blue and white items unearthed.

Currently on display in the Wilton House Museum Visitors Center are many items unearthed from Wilton’s original site.  During a visit to Wilton House Museum you can tour the house, learn more about our Chinese Export Porcelain and see the most famous coffee cup at Wilton.

Wilton was built c. 1753 for William Randolph III, and was once the centerpiece of a 2,000 acre tobacco plantation. Wilton hosted George Washington shortly after Patrick Henry delivered his famous ultimatum, “Give me Liberty, or Give me Death!” during the Second Virginia Convention in 1775. In 1781, then governor Thomas Jefferson visited Lafayette who was headquartered at Wilton, while 2,000 Continental and Virginia militia troops made camp around Wilton.

Today, Wilton serves as an example of pure Georgian architecture, headquarters to the ladies of The National Society of Colonial Dames in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and host to public programs and educational exhibits.