Ontwerp voor een tulpvaas van aardewerk 1851 - 1930

This is a design sketch for an earthenware tulip vase, conceived by Theo Colenbrander. Note the vase's slender, elongated form. It’s a shape that echoes the ancient amphora, vessels used for wine and oil, now reborn to celebrate the tulip, a flower of great symbolic weight. The tulip, introduced to Europe in the 16th century, swiftly became a symbol of wealth and status, its vibrant colors and unique form stirring a collective frenzy known as "tulip mania". This design, a vase, specifically for tulips, represents this potent cultural memory, a time when beauty and desire intertwined with economic speculation. Consider the vase as a vessel of longing, a physical manifestation of our desire to capture and contain beauty. This enduring human impulse, echoed through centuries, from the precious reliquaries of saints to the simple act of arranging flowers. The tulip vase becomes more than just a container; it is a symbol of our deep-seated psychological need to create order and meaning in a chaotic world.