Flower Holder c. 1790

Curator: The Art Institute of Chicago holds this charming object titled *Flower Holder*, crafted around 1790 by the Wedgwood Manufactory. Editor: It exudes such tranquility. The cool blue and delicate white relief figures…it almost feels like a dreamscape rendered in ceramic. Curator: Precisely. Wedgwood was highly successful at reviving classical forms and themes. Here we see Neoclassicism manifested through classical-realism in terracotta and ceramic, blending utility and aesthetics. Note the swan-neck handles and the playful figuration. Editor: The bas-relief figures really draw me in. There's a narrative suggestion here. Who are these figures in white running in circles around the pot? Curator: They evoke classical friezes depicting bacchantes or putti, spirits of nature associated with revelry. It's an idealized vision of innocent joy. Wedgwood cleverly used these recognizable symbols to imply wealth and refinement by way of cultural memory. Editor: It's not just the figures; look at how carefully the shapes create balanced form. The repetition of forms from the vase base all the way up through to the small nob that sits on the vase. The overall geometry achieves this air of serene elegance and timelessness. Curator: Yes, that harmony speaks to a larger societal desire for order and balance—values championed by the Enlightenment and later embraced by the burgeoning middle class as signifiers of prestige and cultivated taste. The material itself, with its subtle texture, contributes to this sense of elevated simplicity. It really does feel both current, but at the same time a peek through to long distant culture. Editor: It's striking how effectively such restrained ornamentation conveys such layers of significance. One can really get lost in such a piece. Curator: I find it wonderful how this speaks to a broader fascination of ancient imagery which continued to ripple for centuries after its making.