  "Art for Art's sake", popularized by Pater, who inherited it from
Gautier. Pater's most famous disciple was of course the young Oscar Wilde.
The sunflower was the best-known -- and most easily lampooned -- symbol of
aestheticism, with the lily (an easier flower to fit into a painting) trailing a
close second. Among the more durable collectibles prized by the followers of
Pater were the figurines, like this one, that could be found in Hellene graves
at the Greek village of Tanagra. The aesthetes also revived interest in Chinese
blue-and-white porcelain (which had originally been popular in the 18th
Century). The ginger jars, with their hawthorn pattern, were especially highly
prized; Rossetti and others managed to fit a
'bit of blue' into several paintings.
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