Design for a Decorative Tablet

John La Farge's design exemplifies the aesthetic movement's embrace of Japanese compositional principles and floral subjects. The work features a stylized flowering plant in an ornamental urn, rendered in watercolor against a rich cobalt blue ground. A golden yellow border frames the composition, punctuated by small decorative flowers at the corners—a direct borrowing from Japanese print traditions. La Farge, a prominent American muralist and designer, pioneered the integration of Asian artistic vocabulary into Western decorative schemes during the 1870s-80s. This tablet design likely served as a study for stained glass, interior decoration, or wallpaper, reflecting the period's fascination with the "japoniste" aesthetic that transformed both fine and applied arts on both sides of the Atlantic.