How to create floral displays in antique vases

Discover how to create stunning floral displays with antique and vintage vases

An array of antique glass vases filled with summer flowers

June 25th, 2018 at 9:47 am

From the pleasing solidity of a Chinese ginger jar to the restrained elegance of Scandinavian modernism, we explore the history of iconic vase design and offer fresh tips for displaying them in you home. All you need to do is add flowers…

Nothing says ‘summer’ like an abundance of blooms loosely arranged in an eclectic assortment of antique vases. For a truly arresting display, choose vases from different eras in a range of sizes, colours, shapes and materials – glass, metal and ceramic – to create a look that’s joyful and uplifting. Add interest by positioning tall vases off centre, with tiny vessels towards the front. The flower shades you choose will unite the collection. Think about where you want to display your vases – here, the distressed wall lends a rustic, bohemian feel

Blue Bohemian flash-cut overlay hand-painted vase, £295, The Antiques Warehouse. Small Chinese blue-and-white vase, £35, Emporium Antiques Centre. Mid-century Scandinavian blue-grey glass vase by Erik Höglund, £125, Glass Etc. Minton majolica crocus vase, c1871, £1,935 (for a pair), Madelena. French Louis Philippe baluster opaline vase with ormolu swan handles, c1850, £3,800 (for a pair), Guinevere. Vintage lassi cup, from £30, Raj Tent Club. Green carafe glass mid-century Scandinavian vase by Erik Höglund, £88, Glass Etc. Fluted blue-and-white vase, £34, The Antiques Warehouse. Ceramic cup with gold detail, £8, Sunbury Antiques Market. French opaline light pink vase, £300, Mousa Antiques at Grays Antiques. Japanese Meiji vase, decorated with floral panels and ladies boating, c1880, £450, Horner Antiques at Alfies Antique Market. Vintage teacups, from £4 each, from a selection at Sunbury Antiques Market. All flowers featured in the shoot from a selection at Buckets of Blooms and The Fresh Flower Company.

Oriental blue and white vases – ‘In the 1860s, lots of European collectors and interior decorators went mad for Chinese blue-and-white porcelain. Feeding this demand, there was an explosion of brand new wares made in the 17th-century style. The most famous of these were the reproductions of sought-after ginger jars, some of which (the genuine ones) were fetching previously unheard of sums for ceramics,’ explains Lars Tharp, ceramics and oriental specialist and Antiques Roadshow expert.

Oriental Blue and White vases filled with fresh flowers on a silver side table

Chinese blue-and-white dish, £45, Packhouse. Blue-and-white ginger jar, £30, Church Hill Antiques Centre. Fluted blue-and-white vase, £34, The Antiques Warehouse. Chinese ginger jar, Swatow ware, c1780–1800, £145; double-gourd vase with a Qianlong mark, 1735–1796 but made in the later part of the 19th century, £900; blue-and-white Chinese vase, 1980s, £50, all Horner Antiques at Alfies Antique Market. Chinese tea canister, c1820, £3,600, Guinevere. Small Chinese blue-and-white vase, £35, Emporium Antiques Centre.

Japanese vases – For over 100 years Japan isolated itself from the outside world by all but closing her frontiers, until 1854 and the Treaty of Yokohama, when Japanese trade with Western nations resumed. When Japanese pottery (mostly ‘Satsuma’ ware) and porcelain (‘Imari’, ‘Kutani’ and ‘Arita’ ware) flooded into Europe, the asymmetry of the designs took Europeans by surprise.

Japanese ceramic vases filled with tall white flowers and green foliage

Large chinoiserie vase, £160, Church Hill Antiques Centre. Eggshell porcelain hand-painted Japanese teacup and saucer, £29 each, Emporium Antiques Centre. Hand-painted vase, £65, The Antiques Warehouse. Cylindrical chinoiserie vase, £49, Aunty Wainwrights. Japanese Meiji vase, decorated with floral panels and ladies boating, c1880, £450, Horner Antiques at Alfies Antique Market. Vintage teacup, £8, Sunbury Antiques Market. Japanese Meiji vase decorated with white blossom and birds, 1870–1890, £135, Horner Antiques at Alfies Antique Market. Cylindrical hand-painted vase, £40, Emporium Antiques Centre. Mirror, £390, Sunbury Antiques Market.

Majolica vases – Inspired by European earthenware, English pottery Minton & Co launched a range of brightly coloured, low-temperature, lead-glazed pieces at The Great Exhibition in 1851 as ‘Palissy ware’, which later become known as ‘majolica’. Other potteries such as George Jones and Wedgwood began to manufacture their own versions and, by the 1880s, the name majolica was commonly applied to all such wares, whether made by Minton or not.

Majolica Vases filled with red and white flowers against a bold floral wallpaper

On the wall: backdrop ‘Rose & Fern’ handblock print fabric, made from an original 1859 design, £324 per m, Jean Monro at Turnell & Gigon. Minton majolica crocus vase, c1871, £1,935 (for a pair); Holdcroft majolica lily triple posy vase, c1870, £440; Krause majolica heron-handled vase, c1890, £635 (for a set of three), all Madelena. Mahogany side table, £350, Sunbury Antiques Market.

Bohemian enamelled glass vases – Bohemia (now a region of Czech Republic) has long been associated with hand-painted glass. ‘Since the 13th century, this area has been a centre for stained glass windows, which are decorated in an identical manner to enamelled glass vases, so the tradition is historic,’ explains glass specialist and owner of Glass Etc, Andy McConnell.

Bohemian enamelled glass vases filled with tall foxgloves against an exposed plaster wall

Blue Bohemian flash-cut overlay hand-painted vase, £295; green Bohemian hand-painted vase, £55, both The Antiques Warehouse. White Bohemian decanter bottle, £600, Mousa Antiques at Grays Antiques. Turquoise glass hand-painted Victorian vase with flowers, £55, The Antiques Warehouse. French opaline light pink vase, £300, Mousa Antiques at Grays Antiques. French Louis Philippe baluster opaline vase with ormolu swan handles, c1850, £3,800 (for a pair), Guinevere.

Mid-century Scandinavian glass vases – Sweden was the most important glass-making nation during the mid-century period. It manufactured sleek, understated vases, mostly in the Småland region, which is in the south of the country and still renowned for production, currently having 13 glassworks and studios.

Mid-century Scandinavian Glass Vases filled with tall blue flowers and eucalyptus in front of an open sash window

Mid-century Scandinavian glass vases designed by Erik Höglund for Boda: small pale blue vase, £55; green glass vases, £88 each; large pale blue vase, £125; large dark blue vase, £165, all Glass Etc.

Indian metal vases – ‘A lot of the vases that were produced in India during the 19th century were decorative and made for the colonial market. The vessels produced for the local market were less decorative – they were usually ritualistic or utilitarian,’ explains Michael Backman, managing director of Michael Backman Ltd, a London firm specialising in rare antique Asian, Islamic and colonial decorative arts. ‘In India at that time, 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.’

Indian metal vases filled with natural greenery in front of a wooden door

Indian chemist’s cupboard, c1920, £200; Indian pattern inlay side table, £150, both Packhouse. In cupboard: antique Indian hand-beaten and diverted matki pot, £65, Packhouse; handmade etched aluminium vase, £49.50, Greige. On cupboard: vintage lassi cup, from £30, Raj Tent Club; antique Indian hand-hewn matki pot made from single piece of timber, £95, Packhouse. On table: aluminium large vase, £49.50, Greige; vintage lassi cup, from £30, Raj Tent Club; metal matki vase, £40; carved block, £25, both Packhouse. Red door, £50, Sunbury Antiques Market.

Constance spry vases – ‘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.