74/1997
Collection
Ceramics
Brief description
Tin-glazed earthenware flower or pot-pourri holder and lid, with blue and manganese painted decoration of stylised floral sprays set within quatrefoils. The top is pierced with a central hole and twenty-six smaller holes, thought to be made in London c.1690-1710.
Object name
bowl
flower bowl
flower bowl
Object number
74/1997
Location
On Display
Production date
c.1690-1710 (manufactured)
Production place
London (manufactured)
Period
Stuart (1603-1714)
Material
earthenware
tin glaze
pigment
tin glaze
pigment
Technique
glazed
painted
thrown
pierced
fired
painted
thrown
pierced
fired
Physical description
Tin-glazed earthenware flower or pot-pourri holder and lid, made in two parts attached together with glaze. The lid is pierced with one central hole and two concentric circles of smaller holes, twenty-six in total. The blue-white tin glaze is pitted in places. The lid is decorated with concentric rings of thick and thin lines in blue, with one waved line running close to the rim. The bowl is decorated with four panels of blue and manganese painted stylised floral sprays set within quatrefoils, alternating with four smaller panels of a stylised motif composed of violet-like petal shapes, above six vertical lines.
Dimensions
Height: 12.5cm
Diameter: 18cm
Diameter: 18cm
Website keywords
house plants and cut flowers
ornaments
ornaments
Label
Label text for the exhibition At Home with the World, Geffrye Museum (20 March 2012- 9 September 2012):
Flower bowl
Decorating rooms with ceramic wares was fashionable at this time. For those who could not afford porcelain imported all the way from China, alternatives made in Europe were available. Delftware made in the Netherlands, and later in England, like this example, was a good alternative.
This object was featured in the World at Home project and display at the Geffrye Museum from 17 May to 24 July 2011. The project was a result of a collaboration between the Geffrye Museum and MA students from the Institute of Archeology, University College London. The students chose eleven objects from the museum’s period rooms to highlight the narrative of England’s ever-changing relationship with the rest of the world. Through the expansion of the British Empire and development of international trade, the English middle classes brought into their homes goods as varied as pottery from Germany, tea from China and modern furniture from Scandinavia. Other outputs of the project included design marketing materials, on-line activities, events, design activities for children and visitor and audience research.
The students researched these objects and prepared text panels for the display. The text is recorded below:
Eastern Techniques
Tin-glazed pottery originated in the Middle East, then was brought to Spain by the Moors and spread across Europe. This pottery technique reached England in the mid-sixteenth century through
Flemish potters invited by an admiring Henry VIII. Used to make everyday objects for the English
home, it became known as ‘gallyware’ because it was transported to England on galley ships.
Blue-and-white ‘delftware’
The blue-and-white porcelain exported from China to Europe in the seventeenth century influenced
European pottery. Dutch potters imitated the designs of the prohibitively expensive Chinese porcelain after 1620 – the finest examples were made in Delft. English potters in London, Bristol and Liverpool followed suit, creating their own English ‘delftware’ and adopting Chinese motifs by the end of the century.
Flower Power
This flower bowl may have been used as a potpourri-holder or ‘flower brick’, containing stems of herbs or flowers like lavender. Popular belief in lavender’s ability to cure was so great that in
1665, during the Great Plague, people often had it at home to protect themselves from disease. The parlour was the location of family activities and business relations in middle-class English interiors
at this time, and this bowl also brought the smell of gardens and the countryside into their homes.
The influence of Chinese blue-and-white wares was such that many decorative motifs were appropriated by English ‘gallypotters’. By the end of the 1600s, taste for polite tablewares and finer ornaments replaced that for heavier, everyday items, and light and delicate ‘Chinoiserie’ designs reflected this.
Transcript of text from mobile phone audio tour, At Home the the World, Geffrye Museum (20 March 2012- 9 September 2012):
My name is Shakeel, I’m 17 and I’m going to talk to you about the blue and white flower bowl sitting at the centre of the table in this room.
What attracted me to the bowl was the fact that it is very detailed for a small object. Especially the wonderful patterns that are emphasised by the blue and white colour drew me to the object.
I thought the use of the bowl was to hold fragrant sticks or to hold flowers due to the name and the design of the object. Also the little holes in the top kind of gave me a hint to what it is.
The fact that it was made in London around 1690-1710 was intriguing. This fascinated me as I thought it was an original piece of china. When I was researching it, I found out that the flower bowl was actually made in London, but obviously has influences from original Chinese pottery. So, well done to the manufacturers!
I have something like this in my house that holds fragrant sticks but that isn’t made out of earthenware, but instead out of metal. I believe that something like this flower bowl would be more commonly found in older people’s houses, as more of an ornament.
Something I enjoyed about researching this object for the tour was learning something new about the object and being educated about where common objects are influenced from.
I think objects like this one should be in museums, as it shows that house ornaments that we have in our houses now, even though they were made in England, were often influenced from overseas. Unlike now, when a lot of objects are made in China or other countries and brought over to England, due to global import and export.
Flower bowl
Decorating rooms with ceramic wares was fashionable at this time. For those who could not afford porcelain imported all the way from China, alternatives made in Europe were available. Delftware made in the Netherlands, and later in England, like this example, was a good alternative.
This object was featured in the World at Home project and display at the Geffrye Museum from 17 May to 24 July 2011. The project was a result of a collaboration between the Geffrye Museum and MA students from the Institute of Archeology, University College London. The students chose eleven objects from the museum’s period rooms to highlight the narrative of England’s ever-changing relationship with the rest of the world. Through the expansion of the British Empire and development of international trade, the English middle classes brought into their homes goods as varied as pottery from Germany, tea from China and modern furniture from Scandinavia. Other outputs of the project included design marketing materials, on-line activities, events, design activities for children and visitor and audience research.
The students researched these objects and prepared text panels for the display. The text is recorded below:
Eastern Techniques
Tin-glazed pottery originated in the Middle East, then was brought to Spain by the Moors and spread across Europe. This pottery technique reached England in the mid-sixteenth century through
Flemish potters invited by an admiring Henry VIII. Used to make everyday objects for the English
home, it became known as ‘gallyware’ because it was transported to England on galley ships.
Blue-and-white ‘delftware’
The blue-and-white porcelain exported from China to Europe in the seventeenth century influenced
European pottery. Dutch potters imitated the designs of the prohibitively expensive Chinese porcelain after 1620 – the finest examples were made in Delft. English potters in London, Bristol and Liverpool followed suit, creating their own English ‘delftware’ and adopting Chinese motifs by the end of the century.
Flower Power
This flower bowl may have been used as a potpourri-holder or ‘flower brick’, containing stems of herbs or flowers like lavender. Popular belief in lavender’s ability to cure was so great that in
1665, during the Great Plague, people often had it at home to protect themselves from disease. The parlour was the location of family activities and business relations in middle-class English interiors
at this time, and this bowl also brought the smell of gardens and the countryside into their homes.
The influence of Chinese blue-and-white wares was such that many decorative motifs were appropriated by English ‘gallypotters’. By the end of the 1600s, taste for polite tablewares and finer ornaments replaced that for heavier, everyday items, and light and delicate ‘Chinoiserie’ designs reflected this.
Transcript of text from mobile phone audio tour, At Home the the World, Geffrye Museum (20 March 2012- 9 September 2012):
My name is Shakeel, I’m 17 and I’m going to talk to you about the blue and white flower bowl sitting at the centre of the table in this room.
What attracted me to the bowl was the fact that it is very detailed for a small object. Especially the wonderful patterns that are emphasised by the blue and white colour drew me to the object.
I thought the use of the bowl was to hold fragrant sticks or to hold flowers due to the name and the design of the object. Also the little holes in the top kind of gave me a hint to what it is.
The fact that it was made in London around 1690-1710 was intriguing. This fascinated me as I thought it was an original piece of china. When I was researching it, I found out that the flower bowl was actually made in London, but obviously has influences from original Chinese pottery. So, well done to the manufacturers!
I have something like this in my house that holds fragrant sticks but that isn’t made out of earthenware, but instead out of metal. I believe that something like this flower bowl would be more commonly found in older people’s houses, as more of an ornament.
Something I enjoyed about researching this object for the tour was learning something new about the object and being educated about where common objects are influenced from.
I think objects like this one should be in museums, as it shows that house ornaments that we have in our houses now, even though they were made in England, were often influenced from overseas. Unlike now, when a lot of objects are made in China or other countries and brought over to England, due to global import and export.
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© Museum of the Home, London
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