Flower Pyramid
Year: 2008
Material: Ceramics, glaze (faience), hand-painted decorations, metal, straps
Dimensions: 139 x 56 x 40 cm
Commission: Royal Tichelaar Makkum (NL)
Production: Royal Tichelaar Makkum
Category: Limited edition
Collection: Zuiderzee Museum, Enkhuizen, private collections
This hanging vase is an interpretation of, and reference to, a 17th-century flower showpiece in the collection of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. After the time-consuming restoration of the old vase, Royal Tichelaar Makkum asked four designers to reflect on the vase as a showpiece, on its decorations and applied technique. Flower Pyramid shows a gradual disappearance of form, matter and pattern. Moreover, by hanging the showpiece almost carelessly on the wall, it is robbed of its elevated aura.