Ode to a Poppy Collection

Adventurers call Tibet’s Yarlung Tsangpo River, the “Everest of Rivers” for good reason. Stretches of it are some of the least-explored places in the world, and tales of failed expeditions abound. Nevertheless, the fruit of such brave quests of discovery, like the Himalayan blue poppy, propel a new generation forward. As the remembrance poppy reminds us, each generation is richer for the heroes of the past. If truth be told, the Himalayan blue poppy is technically not a poppy at all. None of this matters. Whether a design erupts from a designer’s own imaginings or is celebrated because of the bravery of others, the fragile form of poppies with petals holding delicate veining and ruffled or smooth edges complete with large cupped flowers have adorned the Applied Arts since time immortal. Colours of such wonder hold us enthralled, whether they climb out of compost heaps or straddle, circle or rest within the roundel of an old William Moorcroft Florian Ware vase, our Ode to the Poppy is incalculable.