{"id":11443,"date":"2022-05-29T09:45:14","date_gmt":"2022-05-29T07:45:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homesandantiques.com\/?p=30488"},"modified":"2022-05-29T10:05:13","modified_gmt":"2022-05-29T08:05:13","slug":"collecting-antique-and-vintage-vases","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/rss_feed\/collecting-antique-and-vintage-vases\/","title":{"rendered":"Collecting antique and vintage vases"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Ellie Tennant\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Sunday, 29 May 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Nothing says \u2018summer\u2019 like an abundance of blooms loosely arranged in an eclectic assortment of antique vases. From Mid-Century glass to Indian metal vessels, here\u2019s everything you need to know about our favourite antique and vintage vases.<\/p>\n

Oriental blue-and-white vases<\/h2>\n
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\u2018In the 1860s, lots of European collectors and interior decorators went mad for Chinese blue-and-white porcelain<\/a>. Feeding this demand, there was an explosion of brand new wares made in the 17th-century style. The most famous of these were the reproductions of sought-after ginger jars<\/a>, some of which (the genuine ones) were fetching previously unheard of sums for ceramics,\u2019 explains Lars Tharp, ceramics and oriental specialist and Antiques Roadshow expert<\/a>. Retailers such as Liberty & Co imported great quantities of Chinese porcelain jars at this time, many containing tea or ginger.<\/p>\n
Today, these small, spherical jars have often been separated from their dome-shaped covers but make attractive vases and can be picked up for \u00a320 each. \u2018Larger ginger jars<\/a> can be more expensive and are often found converted into lamps,\u2019 says Tharp. Oriental blue-and-white vases intended for a mantelpiece or shelf were often made in pairs or in sets of five (so-called garnitures) to appeal to the European market. A pair of small Japanese vases, made in Arita in the last quarter of the 19th century, can fetch \u00a380\u2013\u00a3120 at auction<\/a>, while a single vase, separated from its pair, would fetch 30 to 40 per cent of its pair value.<\/p>\n
In the 1790s, Staffordshire potters \u2018invented\u2019 the willow pattern \u2013 a crowded coming together of decorative elements seen in Chinese imports of the 17th and 18th centuries. \u2018The lovely irony is that as soon as the Chinese saw examples of English willow pattern pottery, they copied it \u2013 a real ricochet of cross-continental styles,\u2019 reveals Tharp. \u2018A blue-and-white Chinese porcelain vase with a Qianlong seal mark (dating from 1735\u20131796) sold last year at Hansons, Derbyshire for \u00a3650,000,\u2019 reveals Tharp. \u2018The owners were pleasantly surprised; they had been using it as a doorstop.\u2019<\/p>\n
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Japanese vases<\/h2>\n
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For over 100 years Japan isolated itself from the outside world by all but closing her frontiers, until 1854 and the Treaty of Yokohama, when Japanese trade with Western nations resumed. When Japanese pottery (mostly \u2018Satsuma\u2019 ware) and porcelain (\u2018Imari\u2019, \u2018Kutani\u2019 and \u2018Arita\u2019 ware) flooded into Europe, the asymmetry of the designs took Europeans by surprise.<\/p>\n
\u2018Much of this ceramic flood resurfaces at the Antiques Roadshow<\/a> to general disappointment of owners,\u2019 says Lars Tharp. \u2018But occasionally a gem by Makuzu Kozan, from the Fukagawa factory, or by Kinkozan and Yabu Meizan will appear \u2013 these names commanding four and sometimes five-figure sums, while their mass-produced (transfer or stencil-printed) relations struggle to rise into three figures.\u2019<\/p>\n
Tharp says that a pair of Imari vases (with or without lids, from 12in to 27in) could start at \u00a390 and rise to \u00a32,000, although this assumes perfect condition, which is rarely the case. \u2018Since the catastrophic Kobe earthquake of 1995, traditional Japanese works of art, from the 17th century to the early 20th century, have slumped in value, excepting those superlative examples of porcelain, metalwork or ivory carving from the highest \u2013 and very rarest \u2013 makers,\u2019 reveals Lars.<\/p>\n
Once you can tell the difference between hand-painted and transferprinted, and once you know your porcelain (translucent) from your earthenware (not translucent), you are on the right path. If you group a few together, they can provide an attractive focal point. \u2018In an uncluttered, white interior, a splash of Imari or Kutani and maybe even Satsuma, will leap out of a cool background,\u2019 says Lars. \u2018Rather than buying a cheap, mass-produced vase, dig deeper into your pocket: buy a piece of real quality, something that will sustain.\u2019 The timeless appeal of this style will never go out of fashion.<\/p>\n
Majolica vases<\/h2>\n
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Inspired by European earthenware, English pottery Minton & Co<\/a> launched a range of brightly coloured, low-temperature, lead-glazed pieces at The Great Exhibition in 1851 as \u2018Palissy ware\u2019, which later become known as \u2018majolica\u2019. Other potteries such as George Jones and Wedgwood began to manufacture their own versions and, by the 1880s, the name majolica was commonly applied to all such wares, whether made by Minton or not.<\/p>\n
\u2018Majolica vases are very ornate,\u2019 says Ben Tulk, director of Madelena Antiques & Collectables<\/a>. \u2018The majority are decorated with Darwin-related naturalistic designs, adorned with flora and fauna such as cockerels, peacocks, frogs, lizards and flowers, but there are a few geometric ones, too.\u2019<\/p>\n
Prices start at around \u00a310\u2013\u00a320 for a continental, unmarked majolica vase that\u2019s damaged. At the top end, an exceptional marked vase of monumental scale by an English maker such as Minton or Jones could fetch up to \u00a335,000. \u2018There\u2019s something to suit every budget so it\u2019s easy to start a collection,\u2019 says Tulk. \u2018Also, the glazes are enduring, so majolica vases can still be used for flowers today.\u2019<\/p>\n
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Bohemian enamelled glass vases<\/h2>\n
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Bohemia (now a region of Czech Republic) has long been associated with hand-painted glass. \u2018Since the 13th century, this area has been a centre for stained glass windows, which are decorated in an identical manner to enamelled glass vases, so the tradition is historic,\u2019 explains glass specialist and owner of Glass Etc<\/a>, Andy McConnell.<\/p>\n
Production peaked in the late 19th century, with opulent pieces by makers such as Moser and Lobmeyr at one end of the scale and cheaper, mass-produced vases at the other. \u2018If a woman was getting married, typically, all her colleagues would chip in to buy her a pair of enamelled vases,\u2019 says McConnell. \u2018They were often kept in the parlour and guarded with ferocity, so they survive in incredible numbers.\u2019 They can be picked up for just \u00a310 a pair. An important pair of large, glass vases by Moser from this same period could fetch up to \u00a320,000.<\/p>\n
Mid-Century Scandinavian glass vases<\/h2>\n
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Sweden was the most important glass-making nation during the mid-century period. It manufactured sleek, understated vases, mostly in the Sm\u00e5land region, which is in the south of the country and still renowned for production, currently having 13 glassworks and studios. \u2018The Scandinavians coined the \u2018Modernism\u2019 look,\u2019 says Andy McConnell. Asymmetrical shapes were popular and the palette was restrained: greens, greys and blues.<\/p>\n
Prices vary \u2013 more common pieces can fetch as little as \u00a320, but rarer vases or matching groups can sell for more. A trio of 1960s vases by Swedish<\/a> designer Nils Landberg (for leading manufacturer Orrefors) costs around \u00a3600. Vases designed by Erik H\u00f6glund, such as those pictured above, are good entry level examples, starting from \u00a355.<\/p>\n
\u2018The most expensive piece of Swedish glass ever sold at auction was a mid-century \u2018Graal\u2019 (grail) vase by designer Edvin \u00d6hrstr\u00f6m, which sold for \u00a3100,000 a few years ago,\u2019 reveals McConnell. \u2018Gerda Str\u00f6mberg was the greatest of the Modernist glass designers in my opinion,\u2019 he says. \u2018Her lustrous colourless lead crystal vases look as if they have been hewn out of glacial ice.\u2019 Other Scandinavians such as Per L\u00fctken (whose vessels were made at Holmegaard factory in Denmark) made similar vases.<\/p>\n
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Indian metal vases<\/h2>\n
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\u2018A lot of the vases that were produced in India during the 19th century were decorative and made for the colonial market. The vessels produced for the local market were less decorative \u2013 they were usually ritualistic or utilitarian,\u2019 explains Michael Backman, managing director of Michael Backman Ltd, a London firm specialising in rare antique Asian, Islamic and colonial decorative arts. \u2018In India at that time, flowers were used as offerings at altars and statues, but they were changed every day, so there was no need to preserve them in water.\u2019<\/p>\n
Many items that are catalogued as antique Indian metal \u2018vases\u2019 weren\u2019t ever intended to be vases at all. \u2018Lots of them are actually spittoons,\u2019 says Backman. \u2018In India, there is a tradition of chewing betel nuts and so there were lots of ornate metal spittoons (in silver or brass) produced; small ones for tabletops and larger ones that would be placed on the floor. The large ones are lovely used as vases for bigger blooms such as hydrangeas or lilies.\u2019 Backman has a large Mogul floorstanding spittoon made of high-grade silver in stock at the moment that is for sale at \u00a38,000. \u2018It might have come from a sultan\u2019s palace,\u2019 he says. \u2018It\u2019s very fine.\u2019<\/p>\n
Similarly, the highly decorative metal bases of hookah pipes, used for smoking tobacco, are often sold and used as vases today. \u2018They can be made of gold, silver, or bidri (a blackened alloy of zinc and copper, inlaid with thin sheets of pure silver),\u2019 says Michael. Some of the most interesting hookah base vessels have blue and white ceramic bodies with a silver upper section, which were manufactured in China for the Indian market.<\/p>\n
Many metal vessels were manufactured in Kashmir, which has a great deal of Persian influence and is a region that exported a lot of metalware to the UK, for retailers such as Liberty & Co. Bidri items were often made in Bidar, while Mogul pieces were made in the north, around Delhi.<\/p>\n
Cheaper, engraved brass vessels, which were produced in almost industrial quantities, tend to be from Moradabad. \u2018Prices for these simple, brass vessels start at around \u00a3100, but the most stunning metal containers, from a palace, adorned with semi-precious stones, can fetch as much as \u00a3750,000,\u2019 reveals Backman. The cheapest metal Indian \u2018vases\u2019 available today are hand-beaten spherical \u2018matki\u2019 pots that were originally used as water carriers, with rivet detailing. Today, they\u2019re around \u00a375 each but many are no longer watertight, so if you want to use them as a vase you might need to place a small jam jar inside.<\/p>\n
Constance Spry vases<\/h2>\n
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In 1935, florist Constance Spry (1886\u20131960) was fast becoming a famous taste-maker. Her first book Flower Decoration (1934) was a huge success and her asymmetrical floral arrangements that broke with convention were all the rage. \u2018Constance Spry loved creating unusual, free-form displays with berries and kale leaves as well as flowers,\u2019 reveals John Mackie, one of the founding directors of Lyon & Turnbull auction house in Edinburgh. \u2018She couldn\u2019t find the right vases to suit her creations, so she commissioned a range at Fulham Pottery.\u2019<\/p>\n
One of Spry\u2019s employees, Florence Standfast, designed a 1935 Constance Spry collection of elegant, twinhandled \u2018mantle\u2019 vases inspired partly by ancient Greek and Egyptian forms (see facing page). \u2018Spry wanted simple, plastereffect vases that were sculptural and classical \u2013 with a matt exterior and a glazed interior,\u2019 explains Mackie. \u2018The neo-baroque decorative plasterwork of Serge Roche influenced her too.\u2019<\/p>\n
Large, rarely seen designs from the range can fetch up to \u00a32,000, but smaller, more common examples are much more affordable and often go for just \u00a380\u2013\u00a3100 at auction. \u2018Of course, they look stunning filled with flowers, but they\u2019re beautiful unadorned, too, just as a sculptural object on a mantelpiece,\u2019 says Mackie.<\/p>\n
In 1937, Fulham Pottery launched a similar line of vases called \u2018Alber\u2019 which was cheaper and more widely available than the Constance Spry range. There followed many later Constance Spry-style vases by other makers, so ensure you\u2019re buying the real thing, not a repro.<\/p><\/body><\/html>\n
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By Ellie Tennant Published: Sunday, 29 May 2022 at 12:00 am Nothing says \u2018summer\u2019 like an abundance of blooms loosely arranged in an eclectic assortment of antique vases. From Mid-Century glass to Indian metal vessels, here\u2019s everything you need to know about our favourite antique and vintage vases. Oriental blue-and-white vases \u2018In the 1860s, lots […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":11444,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"10"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2022\/05\/collecting-antique-and-vintage-vases.jpg",1067,1600,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2022\/05\/collecting-antique-and-vintage-vases-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2022\/05\/collecting-antique-and-vintage-vases-200x300.jpg",200,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2022\/05\/collecting-antique-and-vintage-vases-768x1152.jpg",768,1152,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2022\/05\/collecting-antique-and-vintage-vases-683x1024.jpg",683,1024,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2022\/05\/collecting-antique-and-vintage-vases-1024x1536.jpg",1024,1536,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2022\/05\/collecting-antique-and-vintage-vases.jpg",1067,1600,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Ellie Tennant Published: Sunday, 29 May 2022 at 12:00 am Nothing says \u2018summer\u2019 like an abundance of blooms loosely arranged in an eclectic assortment of antique vases. From Mid-Century glass to Indian metal vessels, here\u2019s everything you need to know about our favourite antique and vintage vases. Oriental blue-and-white vases \u2018In the 1860s, lots…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/11443"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11444"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}