Garniture of five vases 1886

Curator: My goodness, these colors sing! A rather eccentric, yet harmonious assembly, wouldn't you say? Editor: Indeed. We are looking at a garniture of five vases crafted in 1886 by Theo Colenbrander. Each vase is rendered in earthenware, showing Colenbrander's inventive approach to ceramic design in the Art Nouveau style. Curator: They almost look as if they’ve emerged from some fantastical underwater kingdom. The elongated shapes with the floral and geometric ornamentation – are these emblems, perhaps? Are they some kind of silent language? Editor: Colenbrander was very interested in stylized forms. The flowers, although beautiful, become symbols through repetition. Look at how he abstracts organic forms – turning them into near-calligraphic motifs that play across the surfaces. It’s as if he's invented his own private lexicon. Curator: Ah, yes, like characters in a play, repeating themes, echoing meanings. I notice a certain tension too – a playful friction between the floral motifs and those harsher, more geometric bases. Do these patterns draw on the cultural reservoir of a specific heritage or era? Editor: The stylized motifs do borrow heavily from Javanese batik patterns, integrated with a very strong Dutch aesthetic. This fusion creates an almost exotic, opulent feel. Colenbrander used grids and geometric structure that are reminiscent of Owen Jones and Islamic designs as well. This was very common to Art Nouveau work where all barriers and visual cultures felt within grasp. Curator: What a remarkable confluence! But let's pause for a moment on their impact, these vases strike me as deeply resonant. They are containers and as a viewer they cause us to pause. Editor: Absolutely. There's a ritualistic element to their design and placement – their mere presence prompts consideration of adornment, of history, and even civilization. To ponder decorative art such as this allows reflection on our own emotional connectivity to the material world. Curator: Indeed! Looking at them, I imagine arranging a room, carefully considering where and how light will hit them. A quiet life. Editor: I think that such items were important for viewers to meditate, learn from, to feel some kind of beauty, and thus to understand an evolving future together.