Phot. Z. Reszka; Click to see more

Pottery producers, much interested in winning new clients and concerned with an uninterrupted sale of their products, sought new uses for their ware. Cylindrical or barrel-shaped stools made of porcelain or stoneware, imported from China, and used in gardens and on terraces were the reason why counterparts of these useful pieces of furniture – resilient to weather and easily portable thanks to latticework openings - were also being made in Europe. Sometimes, exotic models were closely copied and in time their forms became differentiated and even granted unusual forms; new methods of decoration were also devised. Quite possibly, the English stool was purchased for Wilanów prior to 1856, when an orangery was being added to the southern wing of the palace. Although the exhibit played the role of a seat, it could have been also put to other uses; it well-known that in 1880–1890 Copeland sold three sizes as part of a set with a globe-shaped garden container for fish or water lilies, for which the stool served as a base.