Semper Flower Vase, shape no. 532

This vibrantly glazed snake-handled vase was designed by German architect and architectural historian Gottfried Semper, who lived in exile in England from 1850 to 1855 after taking part in the German Revolutions of 1848 and being forced to flee. Semper was instrumental in popularizing the fashion for brightly colored interiors in Britain, having written extensively on historical precedents for architectural polychromy in ancient Greek and Roman. While in England, Semper was a member of Prince Albert’s circle and may have encouraged the prince consort to commission his own polychrome interiors, exemplified by the Royal Dairy, Frogmore, Windsor, which was outfitted in vibrant majolica tiles made by Minton. Indeed, the British royal family purchased a substantial amount of Minton majolica in the first decade it was produced, including examples of this vase model. Minton exhibited this vase in its display at the second major international exhibition, the Exposition Universelle held in 1855 in Paris, and continued to produce the model for at least two decades as it was also exhibited in 1876 at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. The bright green glaze found on this example is unusual, it was more commonly glazed in cobalt or turquoise blue. This example is the larger of two sizes in which this model was made.

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Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.

Strawser Auction Group, Hatfield, Pennsylvania, “Majolica and Oyster Plate Auction,” 2 April 2011, lot 789; purchased by Deborah and Philip English, Baltimore, 2011; given to the Walters Art Museum, 2024.