Flower vase 1775 - 1795

This flower vase was made in the 18th century by the English potter, Ralph Wood the Elder. The piece is earthenware, decorated with lead glazes in a variety of colors. At first glance, we see a pastoral scene, but let's look a little closer. The crouching deer, the squirrel, and the leafy foliage evoke the English countryside, a romanticized space far removed from the reality of industrializing England. During this period, the upper classes often turned to idealized images of rural life as a form of escapism from the social and economic upheaval brought about by industrialization. Wood's vase participates in this longing for a simpler past. Moreover, the vase speaks to the era's fascination with the natural world, reflecting a desire to understand and classify the environment. Yet, the artifice of the piece—the overly bright colors, the somewhat stiff figures—reminds us that this is a constructed, not a natural, scene. It is an object of beauty but also an object of reflection on how we shape our understanding of nature and our place within it.