Happy Spring!

Click the link below to go to the website for more information.

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If you need a place to stay The Aiden Hotel just down from the Convention Center has nice rooms available.

Collecting Vintage Vases

for your Spring Bouquet

Spring is the time when we start thinking of brightening up our homes with Spring Flowers!

Nothing showcases a beautiful bouquet better than a classic vintage vase. Whether you are adorning tabletops with a farmhouse look or aiming for an elegant affair the right vase can set the mood you are looking for. The trend lately is to create a grouping of like-styled vases. Having several bud vases together for example can highlight their subtle differences and make your bouquet sparkle. Vases can be found in every material and style. The choices really are endless. You can use something as simple as a vintage milk bottle to an ornate decorated ceramic vase.

Don't limit your thinking to traditional vases... keep an open mind as you wander through a flea market or antique shop. Visualize what an old bucket or even an old boot could look like with a beautiful bouquet in it. Non-traditional objects can make fun centerpieces that will get noticed at your next get together. Here are just a few examples of what you can do.

Here is a fun example of using small objects like candle holders and egg cups to brighten a table.

A grouping like the crocks below can make a fun display.

It's a good idea to use glass vases inside crocks when you can.

Vases in all their forms have been a part of civilization for thousands of years. Bringing beauty into your home doesn't have to be expensive, but it can be. You can spend a couple dollars at a flea market to hundreds of thousands for ancient examples. The main thing is to find a vase that will work for your space and lifestyle. Keep an open mind and think of what kind of flowers you want to find a vase for. Tall flowers need a tall vase for example. Soon you will find yourself with a collection of vases. The more vases you have the broader your options for creating fun displays.

Homes and Antiques has a nice webpage with more information on collecting different types of vintage vases. Click here to go to their webpage

Japan - Fukushima Vase - Jomon period 16th-10th century BC

A Little History

Today we might think of vases as little more than vessels for flowers, but they in fact have multiple uses in modern culture: as storage containers, commemorative objects, pots for trees and flowers, decorative items, gifts, and even trophies.

The reason for this is simple. Vases have occupied a unique place in human history, with most of the vase designs and uses we have today being established centuries ago. Indeed, the practice of giving vases as trophies is one which dates back to Ancient Greece. 



The very first vases we know about weren't decorative at all, but rather used for storage. The oldest vases which have survived into the present day date back as far as the Bronze Age, where we have evidence of vases being used to contain large quantities of grain and oil. 

The round form of vases such as these suggests they were made on a revolving pottery wheel, which allowed for vases to be made in a circular shape. The first known revolving wheels used for the creation of vases have been found in Mesopotamia and date back to 3000 BC.

Decorative vases and ancient Greece

The ancient Egyptians are thought to be the earliest civilisation to have used vases for decorative purposes. Indeed, it was in ancient Egypt that we have the first evidence of vases being used to store flowers, as we do today. These vases were, however, quite basic in shape and design.

It was the ancient Greeks who are best known for having produced beautiful vases that could be both decorative and functional.

The Greeks had a number of different uses for their vases, but their discovery of new ways of decorating these vases meant that they acquired new, symbolic meanings.

Each type of vase in ancient Greece had a specific shape, corresponding to a specific purpose. Greek vases, though, are most famous for their red and black decorations, which allowed for ornament and narrative. Vases were often decorated with images of scenes from everyday life.

A brilliant example of an ancient Greek vase is the Euphronios Krater, crafted in about 500 BC in Athens. On one side of this stunning vase is the heroic death scene of the Greek hero Sarpedon; on the other side there is a scene of anonymous youths arming for battle.

The message hidden within the narrative is clear: death can come for all, hero and ordinary man alike. The narrative depiction on the vase reflects the concerns of everyday human existence and the transience of life.

Vases in ancient Rome

Roman vases continued many of the same traditions as Greek pottery, but as decorative objects they were more likely to be sculpted and carved with reliefs than painted.

In applying these new techniques for producing vases, the Roman Empire produced some of the most impressive and influential vases of all time.

The Portland Vase

Perhaps most famous of all is the Portland vase, a simply stunning vase made of violet-blue glass and featuring seven white glass cameo figures, now housed in the British Museum in London.

The Portland vase is the result of a short period in Roman history that experimented with the glass blowing techinique, which had been discovered in around 50 BC.

What is intriguing about the Portland vase is its iconographic decoration. The meaning behind the scenes depicted remain unknown, but it’s possible that the images on the vase are in fact metaphors for the political situation in Rome at the time, concerning the rule and status of the Emperor Augustus.

The Portland vase was not merely decoration: it was propaganda.

Contemporary to the Romans, the Chinese were crafting beautiful vases using the mineral Kaolin fired at very high temperatures. This technique eventually came to be known as porcelain.

Archaeological finds date the production of porcelain-like wares in China as far back as the Han Dynasty, which ruled from 206 BC – 220 AD.

The development of porcelain in China changed the history of vase-making forever. Porcelain is often considered the finest type of pottery, on account of its bright white color, delicacy and strength, and, unlike European earthenware, Chinese porcelain was resistant to both heat and water.

Below is a Painted pottery pot with raised reliefs of dragons and phoenixes, Western Han dynasty (202 BC – 9 AD)

This is just an example of a few of the vases of antiquity. To read more about the fascinating history of vases please click here for the Mayfair Gallery's History of Antique Vases

Jokes :-)

Why is Yoda such a good gardener?

He has a green thumb.

When is the best time to wash your Slinky?

During spring cleaning.

The bed store is having a spring sale. Unfortunately, the rest of the beds are still full price.

What kind of bow looks best when it's wet? 

A rainbow.

What is a flower’s favorite kind of pickle?

A daffo-dill.

How do brand-new spring flowers greet each other?

“Hey, bud!”

What type of flower do you plant in the dark?

A light bulb.

How do bees brush their hair?

With honeycombs.

Who is an herb’s favorite singer?

Elvis Parsley!

Why don’t skeletons go on vacation during spring break?

They have no body to go with!

Where did the shark go for summer vacation?

Finland.

How does the ocean say hello on spring break?

It waves!

I tried to catch the fog, but I mist.

What falls but never gets hurt?

The rain.

What do you call a bear caught in a spring shower?

A drizzly bear.

Which bird should you never let into a jewelry store?

A robin.

Somewhere in Time

Antique Mall

1313 S. Virginia

775-323-1515

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