A Dutch Delft flower pyramid or tulipière, 1687-1701, Adrianus Kocx, De Grieksche A factory

Obelisk-like tiered spouted flower vases were the pinnacle of production for the potters of Delft in Holland at the end of the 17th century and of the thirty or so Delft potteries, De Grieksche A factory under the management of Adrianus Kocx is the most celebrated producer of flower pyramids. The taste for these types of vases was undoubtedly influenced by Mary, daughter of the Duke of York and the future Mary II (1662-1694). She was betrothed to her cousin the Protestant Stadtholder of Holland, William III of Orange (1650-1702). This alliance saw Mary travel to Holland where she developed a passion for Delft `porcelain` which she used to decorate her Palace and gardens at Het Loo amongst other residences. The subsequent Glorious Revolution of 1688 brought William and Mary to England and Mary's Royal favour for these bold and architectural wares proved influential on the English aristocracy making them popular in both Britain and across Continental Europe. They would symbolise, for a period, a perfect unity of art and nature as well as status.

Like many of the flowers which became popular in the 16^th and 17^th centuries, spouted flower vessels are found in Persia and the Middle East in the late 12^th century. A form of fritware spouted vessel made in the Safavid period (1500-1722) proved influential and are broadly of similar form form; an ovoid body with a central wide neck surrounded by multiple smaller spouts. The simple form became popular in the middle of the century with potters in France, the Low Countries and England in particular. The forms were used in domestic and ecclesiastical settings and their importance as luxury objects can be seen in their appearance in portraiture of the period where the objects an the flowers they contain reflect the status of the owners; similar vessels were also produced in glass and silver. The makers sought to produce containers which would show blooms to their best advantage but also to create objects which would be attractive in their own right. As the demand to make more extravagant shows of flowers increased so did the need for ever more elaborate vessels. The potters of Delft, in particular at De Grieksche A and De Metaale Pot factories understood the requirements of their clientele.

In the 1680s saw Samuel van Eenhoorn, Adrianus Kocx’s predecessor at De Grieksche A factory begin production of spouted vessels. His importance at this time cannot be overstated, not only for producing beautiful, fashionable and exotic wares which attracted Royal patronage but for marking his wares SVE, a practice which his successor continued and was not commonplace in Europe as it was by the 18^th century. This practice of factory marking, also adopted by his competitors has allowed modern scholars to survey surviving and excavated pieces. Whilst documentation relating to the purchase of earthenware and contemporary accounts helps to build a picture of production and patronage, the ornamentation of the highest status pieces with a coat of arms, and elaborate ownership cypher or even, in the case of their most important client, a Royal portrait is a permanent record of the period and provenance of a piece. It is useful to compare such pieces to the present vase. A flower pyramid in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum (inv. Nr. C.61501925) (1) is similar to the present vase in form and decoration and is painted with the coat of arms and motto of John Churchill (1650-1722) as Earl of Marlborough (1689-1702) a title awarded to him by William III for his support during the Glorious Revolution. Another similar and slightly taller pyramid from the celebrated group of vases from the Devonshire Collection, Chatsworth House (inv. nr. 142.1) (2) was ordered by the 1st Duke of Devonshire, another supporter of William and Mary.

(1) van Aken-Fehmers, M.S., Dutch Delftware History of a National Product, Vases with Spouts Three Centuries of Splendour, The Hague, 2007, Vol. IV, cat. no. 2.12, pp. 140-141 (where the author also illustrated a pair of related vases in the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, inv. Nr. 55.9.21a-f).

(2) van Aken-Fehmers, M.S., ibid., cat. no. 2.10, pp. 136-8.