Pair of Dutch Delftware flowerpots

These elegant flower pots are carefully shaped according to models of large-scale garden vases, which were made in marble, cast iron or lead. The decoration of finely painted ivy twigs on the concave sections of the vases’ bodies is highly original. The curving vertical bands at the lower section of the bodies, known as “gordons” in French, “gadrooning” in English and “knerren” in Dutch, can also be found on marble vases, but also in metal examples, including precious metals. The upper and lower border with palmettes in low relief and decorated in shades of blue is a recurring motif in Delftware, and based on designs by Daniel Marot.

In his well-known publication Oud Nederlandsche Tuinkunst, Jhr. C.H.C.A. van Sypesteijn notes that it became fashionable from the late Medieval period to furnish gardens with fine and rare plants, generally imported from more temperate climates, and which were ill-suited for these colder Northern areas. In order to avoid digging them out in autumn and replanting them in spring, it became customary to plant them in pots and vases. These were sometimes made from metal and painted in blue and white, or from red-firing clay. Van Sypesteijn suggested that these early metal flower pots were a source of inspiration for the later pots and vases of Delft earthenware.

Provenance: Ex. Collectie: Dr. F.H. Fentener van Vlissingen, Vught.