Two beaker vases and a lidded jar, part of a garniture c. 1700

This garniture, featuring two beaker vases and a lidded jar, was crafted by De Drie Posteleyne Astonne. The cobalt blue designs against the white porcelain evoke the flowering plum trees in an abstracted landscape. These motifs are powerful symbols of spring and renewal, deeply rooted in Chinese and Japanese art, resonating with themes of resilience and the transient beauty of life. We see echoes of this in Renaissance art, where floral patterns in tapestries and paintings signal rebirth. Consider the image of flowing water. On this piece, it appears abstracted. Yet, across time and cultures, water is a potent symbol of change, purification, and the subconscious, as explored by thinkers like Jung. The recurrence of these symbols speaks to our shared human experience and engagement with the natural world. Their persistence, though constantly changing, taps into something primal and deeply ingrained within our collective memory.