Featured When did flower vases first appear in Europe?

I have been considering preparing an article on finger vases, also known as quintals and tulipieres. The question was prompted by my wife's vast collection of finger vases and tulipieres, the oldest example being from the former collection of the well-known antiques dealer Wynn Sayman and dating to 1780.
I know that that it was for Queen Mary’s Het Loo Palace that the first pagoda shaped Tulipiere was created in the late 1680’s. It was designed by Daniel Marot, a French-born architect, and the primary interior designer at the palace and executed by Adriaen Kock, owner of “De Grieksche A’ (The Greek A).
in Japan, the vase had existed as a container specifically to hold flowers in the Sui (580-618 A.D.) and tang (618-907 A.D.) but when did the flower vase as a decorative element first appear in Europe? When speaking of the shapes of Greek vessels many are labeled as vases but their is no proof that these vessels were used to hold cut flowere. In my opinoin the Greek and Romans lived too close in proximity to nature itself to be concerned about displaying cut flowers in their homes.
I've searched the pottery books and can't find anything. I've studied all the old masters and scrutinized their paintings. I've seen many paintings with flowers displayed in pitchers (Hans Memmling's 1485 "Still Life with a Jug with Flowers", Robert Campin's 1425 Merode Altarpiece (Center Panel), etc.. The first still life I've been able to discover with a flower vase was Ambrosius Bosschaert (1620) "Tulips in a Wan-Li Vase." So, does anyone have an idea when the Europeans began producing vessels made specifically to display cut flowers?
I am of the opinion that the idea of a flower vase was first introduced from China and Japan with the arrival of porcelain, which included examples of flower vases. The development of the European flower vase was, I believe, spurred on by the Dutch during the years of Tulipomania (1625 to 1637) which eventually caused the collapse of the country's entire economy. This theory is speculation on my part and I was wondering if anyone can add light to the subject? Thank you

 

I don't know the answer, but I love doing research. This is an interesting question.

 

I have one of those tulip vases, but it's a Williamsburg repro. I have a feeling people have been putting cut flowers in something as long as there have been people and flowers.

 

I found this in the V&A collection, if you read the summary at the bottom it suggests that purpose made vases existed in Iran in the 12thC. Not Europe but a sight close than Japan or China.
http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O141030/multi-necked-vase-unknown/

 

Walter, where were you planning to publish (post) the article once you write it?

I've done quite a bit of research in the early display of flowers in Europe. And your statement that "In my opinoin the Greek and Romans lived too close in proximity to nature itself to be concerned about displaying cut flowers in their homes" is off. In reality the Romans enclosed and 'tamed' nature, in the form of courtyard gardens that were strictly laid out and walled, not only to kept people out but kept wild nature at bay.

The Greeks, and particularily the Romans, lavished their homes with cut flowers. But to my knowledge, they never used vessels or water vases. Their preferred method of display was to weave flowers and foliage into a garland to be hung on the walls or tables, sometimes woven in a wreath shape (often in literature the garland is described as a wreath.) Like streamers at a Birthday Party, these garlands could be quite abundent. It was common to decorate the home alter with a garland, specifically on feast days. There are some references of strewing flower petals, to be crushed underfoot by guests as in the scene from The Satyricon where Nero drops flower petals from the ceiling in such numbers that it soffocated the guests. Roses were in great favor then as now and some flower shops in Rome were known to stock nothing but roses. Flowers were also extremely popular worn in a circlet.

I would postulate two possible impetuses for vases being introduced/discovered in Europe.

1) the most obvious is necessity and chance. The long necked ewers and oil bottles that were sometimes used for wine or water could easily take a flower stem in a drunken moment of playfullness. This could lead to observing that the flowers lasted longer. But this presupposes that someone actually wanted the flowers to last longer. For the ancient Romans, flower decorations were for the wealthy, it was rare that middle or lower class families would decorate a home with flowers except on holidays or as a libation to their household alter. The Romans were quite proud of their excess, and placing flowers in a vase of water (to preserve them) might be admitting that you couldn't afford to just throw them away. So, perhaps we should look for a northern culture, English and Dutch, with hot houses and expensive flowers that might mitigate preserving the flowers while still being extravagant.

2) The Chinese practiced flower arranging early on as an art form, they wrote books and made paintings of flower arranging and arrangements. These ideas could travel along with any Chinese exports. Also, when export porcelain did arrive in Europe, I might assume that there would be the wayward vase that was placed in the keel along with the enormous platters and wash bowls favored by European royalty. Other than display, the narrow necked flower vases really have a specific purpose that isn't well suited for oil or wine storage. After seeing, or hearing from the importer, how the Chinese use such wares, it wouldn't take much for the fashion to establish among those who could afford it. This might even suggest the mid-east developing the first vases (after the Chinese) since they controlled the silk route, but if when and how that influenced European forms is another question.

PnonG's link to the Multi-necked vase at the V&A, should be a great resource for your article. Those bulb plants used in the finger vases (tulips) mostly are indigenous to that region, Turkey and the southern Caucasus, as far as I know.

It is possible that the European vases and finger vases developed somewhat independently.



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Thank you lilfont for the insightful response. I was, of course, a bit overzealous in stating that the Greeks and Romans did not have a desire to bring nature into their homes but again they used means other than a purpose built container for cut flowers.
I believe I have, at least, a partial answer. Etymologically the word vase seems to have originated during the period of Late Middle English, roughly in the last quarter of the 15th century. That fact indicates that my original theory that the concept of a flower vase as a container made for a specific purpose was imported from the Chinese with the introduction of porcelain is incorrect. Oriental porcelain did not arrive in Europe until the 16th century.
Thanks for the assistance and the thought provoking guidance. See how my mind works. While others are pondering the wonders of the universe and the meaning of life I am standing in a empty lonely field asking seemingly arcane questions no one else would bother to consider.
In response to your first question I have not yet decided to even write the article. In the past I have self-published my books on Italian pottery utilizing Lulu Press. One article was published in the Glass and Pottery Review and my history of the origins of the Somali Cat was published by the Somali Cat Club of America and later reprinted by a German and a Japanese publisher.

 

I think it may be difficult to find what the intended use of a vessel was without some written inventory or record. Any vessel that holds water is suitable for flowers so any jug, bottle etc would suffice. For example the Alhambra "vase" is earlier, was it ever intended for flowers? Just calling it a vase doesn't answer that question.

 

I ask the following question out of both ignorance and curiosity --

Because many flowers (petals and/or leaves and/or perhaps stems) were used for medicinal purposes many, many centuries ago, did or did not people bring certain "medicinal-value" live flowers into the dwelling of an ailing person and when brought into that dwelling did the "medicinal" flower always have to be dried?

 

Qamtara describes the Alhambra vases
(1238-1492) as being 'like' tinajas, wine jars made in Andalusia (Spain) and North Africa. The parts that resembles a tinajas are the teardrop body with a foot and ears, however the narrow, tall, flared neck is completely different. It is the significant distinction that differentiates a vase. This is undoubtedly why the Alhambra vessels are called a 'vase', since this is more like a Chinese vase form (except for the ears). In fact the neck in the example on the linked page is jarringly Chinese looking. Qamtara also suggests the Alhambra vases were most probably intended for decoration.

I postulated that the vase form originated in China and would have first migrated west through the Middle East trade routes, these (transitional) vases seem to confirm that.

What the users of this form actually did with it is unimportant for it's title of 'vase'. In this case the vase is fragile and impotent, if you will, and the owners may never have intended to use it to hold flowers, but just because the vase is unable to perform it's vasely duties, doesn't make it any less of a vase (just as an impotent man, who can't perform his manly duties is still a 'man').

Most pottery is created for use, or at least with a nod to a utilitarian form. The vase is unique in that, even to the Chinese, I would argue, it is not utilitarian in the strictest sense. The antonyms to the word 'utilitarian', impractical and unnecessary, define the Alhambra vases perfectly, and the Chinese considered flower arranging as an 'art', also an antonym to 'utility' (without arguing the merits and need for art.) However, since these vases have ears, the term 'vase' is problematic, which is why I might call it transitional.

YTTloveit, That is a tricky question. There were some fresh herbs (plant and flower material) that were concocted and consumed or applied to the person, just like medications today, and they had great healing benefits. However some plants held a more shamanic or superstitious place in the healing practices. For instance, the Roman Goddess, Cardea, hung Hawthorn in his window to protect the grandfather of Romulus and Remus (legendary founders of Rome) from vampires when he was a baby. The roman tradition was to hang a sprig of hawthorn over a nursery window or the baby's cradle. The sprig or bundle would be suspended by string. These types of charms where also strewn on the floor at certain times, or when the flower was in bloom. There were some flowers used as 'offerings', but my understanding is that they were in the form of a garland, or sticks burnt as an aromatic offering to the gods (incense).

Later, there are many European peasant superstitions like this that continued into the 19th century, in the spring, Hawthorn flowers were hung in barns to protect cows and hung in kitchens to protect the household. Hung on the rooftop, it repelled lightning. (that blossom's protection was intended like a magic blessing that would last the year). Birch (a favorite of Thor) was planted near the house because it was believed to deflect lightening, and during a storm, mother might snip off a birch branch and bring it indoors for the same reason.

For the most part, flowers and herbs (pine was a popular aromatic then as today) were made into garlands or hung in bundles (usually from the rafters). The only contact with water was when they were added to a healing bath or steeped in a tea. I have never read a reference of plants in Europe being kept fresh in a bowl of water (even for healing) before the Renaissance. Any nontraditional use of herbs would have been suspect, as some traditional herbalist practices only narrowly avoided charges of witchcraft and others, (ie mandrake amulets) could be banned by The Church.

 

Lilfont, thank you so much for your explanation regarding the medicinal use of flowers and whether such flowers were routinely (or ever) "in water - in vases" in dwellings of ailing people.

Superb knowledge and research on your part (you had to have the "knowledge" to know how to "research" the subject).

 

Yes, hospital flowers given to sick people to 'cheer them up' is a much more recent tradition. Some 19th and early 20th century practitioners cautioned that it was unhealthy to bring cut flowers into the sick room, which suggests it was done in the 19th century. The idea of sending flowers to the sick may have originated from the 19th century Tussie Mussie and popularity of floral gifts given to loved ones.

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Thank you lilfont. The Alhambra vases are gorgeous but only date to the late 14th century A.D., which makes them "new" in comparison to the Greek painted "vases" of the 6th B.C., which of course were never intended for floral displays.
Again, however, it does not answer the question. The question was not when did the term Vase enter the English language (1629 according to the Oxford English Dictionary) but rather when did containers develop in Europe specifically to display cut flowers? In the context of this specific discussion the statement that "just because the vase is unable to perform it's vasely duties, doesn't make it any less of a vase " is untrue. In this matter, and this matter only, if the item was not meant to hold flowers it should be considered a "container" and not a vase.
If the Oxford English Dictionary is correct in dating the use of the word vase to 1629 then both our theories (that it was the introduction of Chinese porcelains) will stand scrutiny. If other sources, which date the word to the late 16th then I will have to continue my search.
This has, indeed, been a most delightful,incisive and informative discussion and I am most grateful to those who contributed their thoughts and knowledge. Thank you

 

Right, as most discussions the topic veers and SIS was saying that the term 'vase' used for those vessels was inaccurate, while I was stating why I believed it was okay. Sorry, if that doesn't seem to add to the information you need for your research, but it did add to mine.

Anyway, I think you may be missing something.

It is rather common for societies to import the "exotic" and appropriate it for what ever they want. An incense burner becomes an ashtray for a billionaire, it's photographed in Architectural Digest and suddenly Target starts reproducing the incense burner. I think it would be proper to call it an incense burner, because of the form and shape, even if it was never intended to burn incense.

I would speculate that the Alhambra vases were an attempt by that society to duplicate the vase form and that this may have been a step toward making flower vases in the Middle East. While that might not have directly lead to the development of vases in Europe, it does seem to parallel the development of finger vases in the middle east, and that alone may be of interest to your paper.

So far I would theorize that the flower vase developed in China.
Trade brought it to the Middle East, where it saw a decorative form in the Alhambra vases, but that is as far as it made it to Europe. The flower vase finally, as the word origin indicates, made it to Europe around the time of the introduction of export porcelain from China along with an interest in Chinese culture, art and writing. I feel like I am writing your paper for you. Do you think you need the exact date that the Duchess of York placed the first rose cut from an English garden in a Chinese vase, and how everybody applauded and did cartwheels? I doubt if that information will be easy to find or how important it is if you knew the exact day and place. besides these types of "my grandma did it first stories" are often fabricated by either the grandma or granddaughter.

You can try to research the history of flower arranging on the internet, but I will tell you right now, I have done a bit and there is tons of misinformation out there! Floristry is a billion dollar industry with millions of flower shops, all with their own web sites and many looking for any kind of factoid they can copy and paste into thier pages to make them unique. (a lot of Ctrl+c going on) They don't research and the same falsities keep getting repeated until they sound true. I have no doubt, that there is some information written by someone in some old diary or reminiscence of a fancy dinner party where they first saw a vase of flowers. However, even the original of some of that info should be questioned as sources for the data might be 19th century Ladies Magazine writers, who were often no more historian than the copy writers for some web-template for a florist shop. They tended to make stuff up in the 19th century too.

Now, to continue my theory, meanwhile, in the middle-east they created the first finger vases to hold the tulips and other bulb flowers they had been cultivating for hundreds of years and were soon to become the rage of Antwerp. Holland, began having their potters make finger vases, but being a major importer of Chinese porcelain, commissioned the Chinese to make finger vases as well. Which would present an interesting irony, or at least full circle of development. The Chinese invent the flower vase, it is fiddle with in the Ottoman Empire who created the finger vase, which was imported to Holland where this new form of the vase was then sent back to china.

 

@Walter Del Pellegrino , I realize this thread dates from 2014 and you may already have this information.
According to Dutch sources, the first European flower still life was painted by Jacob de Ghein II in 1606. It was commissioned for the princely sum of 600 guilders by the Dutch Staten-Generaal (parliament), to be given to Maria de' Medici. This painting was destroyed, I don't know where, how, or when.
The Dutch tulip vase was based on 12th century Middle Eastern finger vases, according to this site (sorry, in Dutch):
http://kunst-en-cultuur.infonu.nl/d...aas-van-eenzame-hoogte-naar-massaproduct.html
The Middle East was not Ottoman at the time, the Ottoman invasion of the Middle East started in the 16th century. The seat of the Ottoman Empire was of course in Asia Minor.

 

Thank you. Any information is always welcome, regardless of when it is received.

 

Pleasure. This is an intriguing thread. I hope you find enough material for an article, I'd love to read it.

 

Wow. I didn't notice this thread was 3 years old! Anyway, it seems to me that bulb pots are pretty old, too. In some Asian (Chinese/Japanese) paintings I recall seeing bulb flowers in pots like today's household plants. And the Dutch used large vessels for their OTT flower arrangements -- as seen in the beautiful Old Master paintings. However, I doubt that the info gleaned from internet sources would be sufficient for getting to the "bottom" of Walter's question. Interesting!