Design for Three Vases 1765 - 1790

Curator: My eye is drawn to the delicate, almost ethereal quality of this drawing, it's called "Design for Three Vases". It dates from 1765 to 1790 and comes to us from an anonymous artist working with pencil, pen and brown ink with etching on off-white laid paper. Editor: They certainly have a haunting beauty, these vase designs lined up so precisely. I wonder, are they meant to be proposals for functional objects, or is there something more symbolic at play here? Curator: Well, the era certainly informs the function. Remember, Neoclassicism was all about reviving those pure, geometric forms of antiquity. The vase itself becomes a symbol of order, rationality – values deeply cherished during the Enlightenment. Editor: And in this socio-political context, these clean lines are speaking volumes. It’s a rejection of the Rococo frills, embracing a visual language of civic virtue, if you will. A way to signal societal aspirations through domestic design, wouldn't you say? Curator: Absolutely. Consider the symbolism embedded in each form. The central vase, crowned with a finial, feels almost regal, suggesting power and stability. While the flanking vases, with their looping handles, could represent harmony and interconnectedness. Editor: It makes you think about how domestic objects aren’t merely functional, but also bearers of cultural meaning. These vases, should they have been brought to life, would've shaped the spaces they inhabited, projecting an image of sophistication, intellectual rigor, and control. A way to domesticate the grand narratives of the time, even. Curator: The cultural memory of these shapes are potent. That these precise sketches survive suggests they were highly valued, acting as templates or even aspirational objects. These simple vases become powerful vessels indeed. Editor: It’s fascinating how something as simple as a line drawing of a vase can encapsulate so much of a historical moment. Design is never just about aesthetics. Curator: It invites us to look beyond the surface, into the underlying currents of society. I, for one, will never see a vase quite the same way again.