A flower brick is a type of
vase,
cuboid-shaped like a building
brick, and designed to be seen with the long face towards the viewer.[1][2]
Traditional flower bricks are made of a
ceramic material, usually
delftware or other
tin-glazedearthenware.[3][4][5][6][7] 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 or
tulipiere, which have more rounded shapes.[3] Flower bricks are thought to have been the most common vessel for flowers besides vases in the 18th century.[7]
Some scholars suggest that flower bricks may have been used as quill holders and inkwells during the 17th century, although this is debated.[6] There are few surviving pictorial representations of these objects in use during the 17th or 18th century.[6]
Examples
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.
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.
Flower brick, Liverpool, England. Tin-glazed earthenware, made in Liverpool around 1760.
Walker Art Gallery.