The ''Flower-holder'' (''Tulpenvaas'') is one of a matching pair of

tulip vase A tulip vase, or pyramid vase, is a vase designed to put cut flowers and especially tulips in, but it primarily serves as a decorative showpiece. They were first made in the Netherlands in the 17th century and were decorated with ''Delfts blau ...

s dated to ca. 1690 and currently in the collection of Museum Het Prinsenhof.painting record
on museum website The pair was created in the tin-glazed delftware company called "De Griekse A" ("The Greek A") in

Delft Delft () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, ...

. A flower-holder such as these was meant to maximize the use of tulips and each tubular hole in the top was meant for one individual flower, as tulips were so expensive at the time. Each vase can hold 15 tulips. It is unusual to see tulip vases in pairs. This pair is unusual both for its age and condition, and was purchased by the museum in 1975 after the vases were put on display by Aronson Antiquairs of Amsterdam at an art fair hosted by the museum itself. Each vase was made in four separate pieces. The assembly consists of a foot-piece, a vase that rest on it, and a double-layered lid with tubular holes. These tubular holes are referred to as spouts, but were not used for pouring. The lids fit into each other and were designed to hold 8 and 7 individual blooms respectively. The Greek A factory was known for its decorative table objects, but also became known for its extravagant tower vases, that held many more flowers. These tower vases would have been very costly to have filled completely. Tulips were very difficult to propagate and were considered quite expensive, though no longer as expensive as they had been during tulip mania when speculation in the market for flower bulbs caused several well-to-do growers to go bankrupt in the 1630s. It is unknown who designed this specific pair of vases, but a similar vase in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art without the foot piece was designed by

Daniel Marot Daniel Marot or Daniel Marot the Elder (1661–1752) was a French-born Dutch architect, furniture designer and engraver at the forefront of the classicizing Late Baroque Louis XIV style. He worked for a long time in England and the Dutch Republic ...

for the Greek A factory during the period of Adrianus Koecks, who is documented working there during the years 1689–94.Vase
on MET website A replica of a tulip pyramid vase made by De Griekse A in this period was used as a backdrop for President Obama's visit to the Netherlands in 2014. Each tier of the vase containing spouts is a separate piece. While the paired vases have two tiers, pyramid vases can have 10 or more tiers of spouts. File:Delft Flower pyramid c1690 VA C19-1982.jpg, Tulip pyramid in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum, ca. 1695 File:Obama and Rutte talk against backdrop of restored flower pyramid.jpg, Obama's chat with Mark Rutte during his visit to the Netherlands in 2014

References

External links

artwork record
on Europeana website
Pair shown together
on Delftware website {{DEFAULTSORT:Flower-holder Delftware Individual pieces of pottery