Apart from imported Oriental pieces, vases were virtually unknown in Europe before the 17th century. Then they evolved an astonishing range of decorative forms.

Any flower arranger has been frustrated at the seemingly unsuitable shapes of vases for holding cut flowers. In fact, in the world of antiques and ceramics, that is not their main purpose. A vase is seen as an ornament designed to be complete in itself or to balance as a pair.

Vases were luxury items until the mid- 10th century, and most were made of porcelain. But pieces dating from that time on vary enormously in quality. In the late Victorian era, many of the finest porcelain vases were copied and mass-produced (with printed decoration) in cheaper bodies.

Oriental Vases

In China, vases were respected as objects of beauty as long ago as the Song (Sung) dynasty (960-1279). Although they are rare today, these elegant stoneware pieces — carved beneath a celadon glaze or with hand-painted decoration — have been a major influence on modern studio potters.

Among the finest vases still found are those in porcelain from the Ming dynasty (1368- 1644). These can command up to seven-figure sums, and many people dream of finding such vases. But many are crudely made and worth little. This is especially true of 16th-century provincial pieces from what is now Vietnam, which may fetch £100-£400.

Antique Collection

Chinese and Japanese vases made specifically for export to Europe are among the most keenly collected today. The Chinese potters concentrated on shapes that were popular in the West, and early European collectors even had entire rooms redesigned to house their substantial collections of blue and white Chinese porcelain. Vases were arranged in patterns on mantelpieces and on top of cabinets, a practice that led the Chinese to make matching sets – known as garnitures -of three or five vases.

Decoration was adapted to European tastes, and included richer, more complex patterns – particularly panels incorporating Chinese figures. Such a set is likely to fetch between £1500 and £ 10, 000, or even more, today. Examples from the mid- 19th century onwards often have a background of bright green enamel scrolls embellished with gilding, a pattern known in the United States as `Rose Medallion’. Vases range in height up to 78 in (2 m), and current prices range from £ 100 to as much as £20, 000.

There was little European trade with Japan until the chaos after the fall of the Ming dynasty in 1644 disrupted production in China. Japanese Imari wares reached the

European market via Holland about that time, and are recognised by their distinctive colours of iron red, underglaze blue and gold.

Distinguishing between Imari of around 1700 – now worth £800 up to £ 10, 000 for a vase – and 19th-century versions can be hard. However, early Japanese glazes have millions of small bubbles, which soften the edges of the decoration, while most later designs use a brighter blue and are more crowded. A typical 19th-century Imari vase will fetch £60-£500. European trade with Japan ceased again in the 1740s, but continuing imports of Chinese imitation Imari ware meant that the style remained popular in the West.

Japanese art was reintroduced to Europe in the 1860s, and carved ivory and cloisonné enamelled metalwork again became fashionable. They were imitated in porcelain, especially at the Worcester factory, whose copies of Chinese and Japanese vases were themselves very influential. As a result, substantial numbers of wares were again imported from Japan. Prices for these today range from just a few pounds right up to £10, 000 or more.

European Vases

European potters had little experience of making ornamental vases before the 17th century. The earliest European true vases found today are reproductions in tin-glazed earthenware of Oriental shapes and designs. Some are such close copies that they can deceive the unwary. Gradually European potters modified the Chinese patterns to create their own Oriental style or ‘Chinoiserie’, epitomised by German faience of the 17th century and then by Meissen porcelain of the 1730s and 1740s. Meissen’s indianische Blumen (`Indian Flowers‘) pattern combined elements of both Chinese and Japanese design and decoration, but used much brighter colours than the originals and showed European figures dressed in fanciful Chinese clothes. These early Meissen vases are eagerly sought after by collectors, who pay up to £20,000 or more for a good example.

In the 1750s, pieces in Meissen or ‘Dresden’ style (from both Meissen and other German factories) competed with the French soft- paste porcelain vases from Sevres. The more colourful and softer-looking Sevres pieces were designed to complement Rococo interiors. Some were decorated with scroll work and applied with flowers, others painted with flowers and pastoral scenes. Such vases were luxury items in their own time and today fetch sums ranging from £10,000 to £50, 000.

British vases from the mid- 18th century are usually of porcelain. After China and Japan, Meissen was the main inspiration until about 1760 for major factories such as Worcester, Chelsea, Bow and Derby. A pair of richly decorated English vases from 1760 to 1780 can fetch between £2000 and £15, 000.

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