National Library of Australia
The Flower Hunter | Ellis Rowan

Ceramics

On her return from America in 1906, Ellis Rowan began working towards a major selling exhibition, eventually held in August 1910 at Angus and Robertson’s Sydney store. At the exhibition, 65 gouache paintings were purchased by the Technological Museum (now the Powerhouse Museum) under the guidance of Richard Baker, its curator, economic botanist and lecturer on timbers.

Perhaps as a result of the success of this exhibition, Rowan also began providing similar paintings, under commission, to the Sydney jeweller and importer of fine china, Flavelle Brothers. The Flavelle brothers, Henry and William, sons of the founder John Flavelle, were holders of the Vice-Regal appointment in 1910, and were by then the established jewellers in Sydney. Flavelles forwarded the paintings to the Royal Worcester Porcelain Co. Ltd of London as the artworks for a commissioned series of hand-painted porcelain ceramics.  The aim of this enterprise was to commercialise the contemporary interest being shown in the use of Australian flora in applied art, as a result of the pioneering work of Lucien Henry.

‘Quaker Edge’ plate, two tea plates and a cup and saucer, with various Australian wildflowers  c.1912The Technological Museum under Richard Baker’s guidance provided the institutional support, through acquisitions, for Flavelle Brothers to feel justified in the substantial production costs of these ceramics. From 9 July 1914, they commenced the purchase of a magnificent group of items produced by Royal Worcester for Flavelle Brothers. These purchases bear the production mark for 1912 and are of two distinct types: the first are the classic dessert plates with grey Quaker edge borders, depicting Christmas bells, waratahs, flannel flowers, native cherry, rock lily and flowering eucalypts; the second are the blue ground, flowering gum series in three different shapes. Uncertainty as to how the market would receive the product resulted in this first consignment having various experimental borders: simple gilt, gilt acid etched, grey and brown Quaker edge, and various grounds.

It does not appear, from surviving pieces, that Flavelle’s ordered any more expensive blue ground plates, cups and saucers, or large dessert services after the outbreak of World War 1 on 3 August 1914. An order placed in 1913 was for properly identified tea and coffee services with the Ellis Rowan Flavelle mark in full. This arrived, but as sales must have been slow throughout the rest of the war, there was no incentive to order more.

Cup and saucer with Waratah design  1916–1918At the conclusion of the war, small quantities of Worcester decorated with Ellis Rowan’s designs were produced but with transfer printed borders, to save on cost. In 1916, Flavelle Brothers commissioned Rowan to travel to New Guinea in order to paint a series of Bird of Paradise and flower designs. She had previously provided designs covering the fields of butterflies and birds to the factory but the spectacular birds of paradise provided a unique opportunity to publicise her skills and produce a final burst of creativity on both paper and porcelain.