Homes Antiques

In 1935 florist Constance Spry

(1886–1960) 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.

‘Constance Spry loved creating

unusual free-form displays with berries

and kale leaves as well as flowers’

reveals John Mackie one of the

founding directors of Lyon & Turnbull

auction house in Edinburgh. ‘She

couldn’t find the right vases to suit her

creations so she commissioned a range

at Fulham Pottery.’

One of Spry’s employees Florence

Standfast designed a 1935 Constance

Spry collection of elegant twin-

handled ‘mantle’ vases inspired partly

by ancient Greek and Egyptian forms

(see facing page).

‘Spry wanted simple plaster-

eect vases that were sculptural and

classical – with a matt exterior and a

glazed interior’ explains Mackie. ‘The

neo-baroque decorative plasterwork of

Serge Roche influenced her too.’

Large rarely seen designs from

the range can fetch up to £2000 but

smaller more common examples are

much more aordable and often go for

just £80–£100 at auction. ‘Of course

they look stunning filled with flowers

but they’re beautiful unadorned

too just as a sculptural object on a

mantelpiece’ says Mackie.

In 1937 Fulham Pottery launched

a similar line of vases called ‘Alber’

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’re buying the

real thing not a repro. Q

CONSTANCE

‘In India there is a tradition of chewing SPRY VASES

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.’

Backman has a large Mogul floor-

standing spittoon made of high-grade

silver in stock at the moment that is for

sale at £8000.

‘It might have come from a sultan’s

palace’ he says. ‘It’s very fine.’

Similarly the highly decorative metal

bases of hookah pipes used for smoking

tobacco are often sold and used as vases

today. ‘They can be made of gold silver

or bidri (a blackened alloy of zinc and

copper inlaid with thin sheets of pure

silver)’ 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.

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. Cheaper engraved

brass vessels which were produced in

almost industrial quantities tend to be

from Moradabad.

‘Prices for these simple brass vessels

start at around £100 but the most

stunning metal containers from a palace

adorned with semi-precious stones can

fetch as much as £750000’ reveals

Backman.

The cheapest metal Indian ‘vases’

available today are hand-beaten spherical

‘matki’ pots that were originally used

as water carriers with rivet detailing.

Today they’re around £75 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.

THE RISE OF THE ‘VASE’...

The first pictures in Britain of vases as we know them today can be seen on

18th-century engraved trade cards but the word ‘vase’ wasn’t used until later

in the 19th century. ‘They were called ‘flower glasses’ in the 18th century and

they were fairly rare’ reveals glass specialist Andy McConnell. ‘They are non-

essential luxurious items. If you’re oered the choice between a drinking glass

or a vase and you’re poor the vase is fairly far down the list.’

As well as ‘flower glasses’ the Victorians gave them other names. ‘Even now

dealers often place the word ‘celery’ in front of the word ‘vase’ when they are

selling a Victorian vessel’ McConnell tells us. ‘I’m sure you can put celery in

them and some of them were indeed intended for celery but it seems to me as if

the Victorians must have lived on the stu! I don’t know where they put their

flowers...’ he chuckles.

In the late 19th century vases came into their own as people became

gradually wealthier and leisure gardening became a popular pastime. Vases rose

up the scale and they were made in increasingly large numbers.

In India 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

• Michael Backman specialist in Asian decorative arts

46 H&A SUMMER 2017