8. Simple but elegant

Our next object is a small, elegant vase. It uses a range of simple elements to create a stylish look that would appeal to the potential buyer. Despite being small, every part of the vase is used to create a rich variety of patterns.

The first elements to catch the eye are the green and blue areas that use reflective foil squares. We can imagine that the remainder of the design may have been nearly the same in an earlier version, and that the green and blue foil was a new innovation for the workshop. Indeed the basic elements of the design and very simple. The ’roundels’ for example – see below.

Compared to those of object 7 (see previous post) these are very basic, and not particularly well executed. There is another interesting element though. If we look at the wire used to surround the green and blue areas it is obviously thicker than any seen in previous objects, or indeed elsewhere on this one, and twisted.

ref 8.6

It might be that a thicker wire was needed technically for production purposes to make the areas with foil work. Alternatively it might have been a pure design decision, because the ends of the wire have been used as part of the design, rather than being hidden away. It would be interesting to know which of these reasons is the real one.

Before leaving the vase we can also look at the base and top, where we see the familiar proven pattern of a line of red circle wiring, then blue/green fish scale wiring, leading into the general space filing black spiral wiring.

This object suggests a well established workshop seeking to produce simple but attractive vases, and open to small design improvements if they might add to the likelihood of improving sales.

Object 8. Vase height 14 cm weight 146 gm.

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