Casa by JJ Launches Arabella Palm: Hand-Painted Ceramics Rooted in Centuries of Botanical Obsession

Casa by JJ has launched Arabella Palm, a collection of hand-painted ceramics from Portugal that draws on one of the most enduring motifs in decorative history: the palm.

The palm tree has captivated artists, collectors, and travellers for millennia. Ancient Egyptians used it as a symbol of the sun and eternal life. Roman soldiers carried palm fronds as tokens of victory. By the eighteenth century, European aristocrats were filling their glasshouses with tropical palms, and the motif had migrated onto porcelain, wallpaper, and silverware across the grand houses of the continent. The Victorians took it further still, planting iron-and-glass palm houses in their botanical gardens and printing the frond onto everything from majolica tiles to ladies' fans.

That long thread runs through Arabella Palm. Each piece is painted by hand in Portugal, where the ceramic tradition stretches back to the Moorish influence of the medieval period. The palm frond moves across plates, serving dishes, and bowls in fluid, confident brushwork — botanical illustration meets artisan craft.

Founder Josephine Jenno describes it as a collection for those who know their design history or not, its just so easily lovable. "The palm has appeared on the walls of Pompeii, on Napoleonic dinner services, on the textiles of William Morris. It's one of those motifs that has never really gone out of fashion — it just keeps being rediscovered. Arabella Palm is our version of that conversation."

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"The palm has appeared on the walls of Pompeii, on Napoleonic dinner services, on the textiles of William Morris. It's one of those motifs that has never really gone out of fashion — it just keeps being rediscovered. Arabella Palm is our version of that conversation." Says founder Josephine Jenno

Casa by JJ is a British artisan homeware brand founded by Josephine Jenno, operating from a Chelsea studio in London. The brand sources handmade tableware, textiles, glassware, and home accessories from artisan makers across Portugal, Morocco, Mallorca, Uzbekistan, Sicily, and beyond