A flower brick is a type of

vase A vase ( or ) is an open container. It can be made from a number of materials, such as ceramics, glass, non-rusting metals, such as aluminium, brass, bronze, or stainless steel. Even wood has been used to make vases, either by using tree species ...

, cuboid-shaped like a building brick, and designed to be seen with the long face towards the viewer. Traditional flower bricks are made of a

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...

material, usually

delftware Delftware or Delft pottery, also known as Delft Blue ( nl, Delfts blauw) or as delf, is a general term now used for Dutch tin-glazed earthenware, a form of faience. Most of it is blue and white pottery, and the city of Delft in the Netherlands ...

or other tin-glazed earthenware. The top surface has a large hole into which water is poured, and a number of smaller holes into which flower stems are inserted, so that the flowers are kept in position. These vessels are a sub-type of the

boughpot A bough pot is a vessel for holding stems of flowers and branches to decorate an interior, especially a fireplace during summer. They are typically ceramic, and have a body to hold water, with a number of small openings for the stems in the top. ...

tulipiere A tulipiere or tulip-holder is an ornate vessel in which to grow tulips and is usually made of hand-crafted pottery, classically delftware. They are typically constructed to accommodate one bulb per spout with a larger common water reservoir bas ...

, which have more rounded shapes. Flower bricks are thought to have been the most common vessel for flowers besides vases in the 18th century. Some scholars suggest that flower bricks may have been used as quill holders and inkwells during the 17th century, although this is debated. There are few surviving pictorial representations of these objects in use during the 17th or 18th century.

Examples

File:English flower brick, c.1750-1760.jpg, English flower brick, c.1750-1760, by unknown maker. Tin-glazed earthenware (delftware), 3 1/2 × 2 3/8 × 5 1/2 in. (8.9 × 6 × 14 cm). Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. File:Flower brick c. 1750.jpg, Flower brick (c. 1750), London. Tin-glazed earthenware, 14.6 × 9.2 × 7.3 cm (5 3/4 × 3 5/8 × 2 7/8 in.). Art Institute of Chicago. File:Flower brick, Walker Art Gallery.png, Flower brick, Liverpool, England. Tin-glazed earthenware, made in Liverpool around 1760.

Walker Art Gallery The Walker Art Gallery is an art gallery in Liverpool, which houses one of the largest art collections in England outside London. It is part of the National Museums Liverpool group. History of the Gallery The Walker Art Gallery's collection ...

References

{{art-hist-stub Ceramic art Vases Cuboids