Flower brick, one of a pair

Dateca. 1740

MediumTin-glazed earthenware (delft)

DimensionsH: 3 1/2"; L: 6 1/8"; W: 2 5/8"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1954-751,1

DescriptionOne of a pair of rectangular straight-sided containers with a rectangular central hole and twelve round holes in a recessed top. Whitish tin glaze with powdered manganese: on the sides, reserves of blue flower sprays and a central octagonal reserve painted with a blue castle and boats. On the ends, repeats of the floral reserves; on the top, blue squares, crosses, and dashes around the round holes and a stylized vine pattern around the central rectangular hole. Recessed base.
Label TextThere has been much debate as to whether delft bricks were intended to be flower containers or inkwells. No graphic or written documentation supports either use. However, circumstantial evidence supports use of the form for arranging flowers. Bricks often came in pairs; nearly half of those in the CWF collection are or were originally part of a pair. Inkwells were rarely made in pairs. Moreover, none of the extant large brick-shaped containers has a separate metal, ceramic, or glass ink pot (as do the French heart-shaped examples), and the minimal wear around the openings does not suggest that they held such pots. The form does relate to smaller brick-shaped vessels that probably are inkwells and have built-in receptacles for ink (see CWF accessions 1958-308 and 1956-375), but it relates equally to other square and round containers that most likely were for flowers. Finally, there is a lack of uniformity among the larger apertures on these bricks--some pieces have no openings large enough for an ink pot while others have as many as three in shapes ranging from circular to rectangular, oval to cruciform. This diversity also argues against use for ink pots.

The same scene and powder ground appearing on the present pair of bricks are found on a Bristol plate in the CWF collection (accession 1950-631) and on five plates (from three sets) dated 1740, all in private collections. The design also appears on Bristol-attributed tiles.
InscribedNo
MarkingsNo
ProvenanceD. M. & P. Manheim, London