Zhenlei Chen
Research Project
The Transcultural Values of Flower Pyramid - The Cultural Values of Dutch Delftware and its use in the UK Country House Between the Seventeenth to the Eighteenth Century
My dissertation focuses on the transcultural values, shifting values, function, aesthetic, political, and culture of the collection of Delftware Dutch flower pyramid in country houses.
Keywords
Material Culture, Early Modern, Europe, Applied Arts, Methods of Documentation, Conservation, Transcultural Values
Illustration 1, Dyrham Park, Zhenlei Chen, (Accessed: 17 November 2021)
The ceramic products circumambient of us define us as well. The moment they are shaped by potters and decorated by painters, they manifest the culture that gives birth to them. Whether they are unique artworks or mass-produced tableware, their shapes and decorations are indicative of the demands, interests and tastes of a particular group of people and their technical merit. As a matter of fact, ceramic products are employed to decorate our houses and take on various forms including as a commodity, gift, souvenir or inheritance. Such designed objects tell us who we are, including our interest, experiences, educational background and social relations. Every object in our house has a story explaining how it got there, and design history helps us to think about this in new ways. In defect of recording and sharing, it is commonplace for these histories to disappear with each new owner. Suppose history is equal to a collection of human events, ceramics are silent witnesses.
The origin of the author’s topic is a Flower pyramid ca.1695 form the Victoria and Albert Museum. The Victoria and Albert Museum archive records show that after the overthrow of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) in China in 1644, Verenigde Oost Indische Compagnie (Dutch East India Company) did not have access to Chinese porcelains anymore, which urged potters in Delft to imitate blue-and-white potteries. In mansions in the Netherlands and England, suchlike stacked flower stands were used to display tulips and other natural or artificial flowers.
These potteries were large in size, complicated in structure and high in production cost. The flower pyramid vase is one of the pair, with a base supported by four royal lions with a ball on their palms. The square flower stand consists of nine layers, with each corner having a spout, and another flower stand contains a female bust. Each layer of the flower stand can be filled with water, and each spout can be used to contain flowers. What is more, there are holes on the top of corolla so that more flowers can be placed.
At the end of the sixteenth century, tulip fever swept over the Netherlands. To meet this demand, the craftsmen of Delft, especially the Greek A factory, manufactured gigantic receptacles to decorate pyramids. They were normally made in pairs, and were highly decorative in palaces and country house with or without flowers. To be noted, they are particularly prevalent among courtiers of William Hendrick Van Orange in England. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the word ‘pyramid’ refers to obelisk. Standing for eternity and dominance, they are used in buildings and public spaces and function as temporary structures for celebration in gardens. This thesis intends to concentrate on the Dutch Delftware flower pyramid, starting with the history and the story of Dutch Delftware as a starting point. After the overthrow of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) in China in 1644, Verenigde Oost Indische Compagnie (Dutch East India Company) did not have access to Chinese porcelains anymore, which urged potters in Delft to imitate blue-and-white potteries. In mansions in the Netherlands and England, suchlike stacked flower stands were used to display tulips and other natural or artificial flowers, bringing nature indoors. These potteries were large in size, complicated in structure and high in production cost. This dissertation is especially interested in the collection of Delftware flower pyramid in country houses, and what is the transcultural values, shifting values, function, aesthetic, political, and culture of the Dutch flower pyramid. In order to answer these it focuses on a key case study are the Delftware flower pyramid at the Dyrham park and uses both secondary and primary research especially focus on the archive research as its methodology.
The origin of the author’s topic is a Flower pyramid ca.1695 form the Victoria and Albert Museum. The Victoria and Albert Museum archive records show that after the overthrow of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) in China in 1644, Verenigde Oost Indische Compagnie (Dutch East India Company) did not have access to Chinese porcelains anymore, which urged potters in Delft to imitate blue-and-white potteries. In mansions in the Netherlands and England, suchlike stacked flower stands were used to display tulips and other natural or artificial flowers.
These potteries were large in size, complicated in structure and high in production cost. The flower pyramid vase is one of the pair, with a base supported by four royal lions with a ball on their palms. The square flower stand consists of nine layers, with each corner having a spout, and another flower stand contains a female bust. Each layer of the flower stand can be filled with water, and each spout can be used to contain flowers. What is more, there are holes on the top of corolla so that more flowers can be placed.
At the end of the sixteenth century, tulip fever swept over the Netherlands. To meet this demand, the craftsmen of Delft, especially the Greek A factory, manufactured gigantic receptacles to decorate pyramids. They were normally made in pairs, and were highly decorative in palaces and country house with or without flowers. To be noted, they are particularly prevalent among courtiers of William Hendrick Van Orange in England. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the word ‘pyramid’ refers to obelisk. Standing for eternity and dominance, they are used in buildings and public spaces and function as temporary structures for celebration in gardens. This thesis intends to concentrate on the Dutch Delftware flower pyramid, starting with the history and the story of Dutch Delftware as a starting point. After the overthrow of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) in China in 1644, Verenigde Oost Indische Compagnie (Dutch East India Company) did not have access to Chinese porcelains anymore, which urged potters in Delft to imitate blue-and-white potteries. In mansions in the Netherlands and England, suchlike stacked flower stands were used to display tulips and other natural or artificial flowers, bringing nature indoors. These potteries were large in size, complicated in structure and high in production cost. This dissertation is especially interested in the collection of Delftware flower pyramid in country houses, and what is the transcultural values, shifting values, function, aesthetic, political, and culture of the Dutch flower pyramid. In order to answer these it focuses on a key case study are the Delftware flower pyramid at the Dyrham park and uses both secondary and primary research especially focus on the archive research as its methodology.
Illustration 2, Dyrham Park, Zhenlei Chen, (Accessed: 17 November 2021)
Illustration 3, Dyrham Park, Zhenlei Chen, (Accessed: 17 November 2021)