Triangular shaped vase
1870s
Medium
Porcelain, decorated with pâte-sur-pâte technique
Dimensions
confirmed: 5 3/4 × 3 × 2 3/4 in. (14.6 × 7.6 × 7 cm)
Classification
Ceramics-Porcelain
Culture
British, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Helene Fortunoff and Robert Grossman, 2017
Accession Number
2018.62.40
Art Historical Context
This delicate triangular-shaped vase, crafted by the renowned British porcelain firm Minton(s) in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire during the 1870, exemplifies the height of Victorian ceramic innovation. Measuring just 5¾ × 3 × 2¾ inches, its unusual geometric form—rare in ornamental vases of the era—evokes both modernist simplicity and the opulent Aesthetic Movement's love for exotic shapes inspired by Japanese and ancient motifs. Produced in the heart of England's pottery capital, Minton pieces like this were prized globally for their technical mastery and refined beauty. The vase's standout f...
About the Artist
Minton(s) · 1793–2001
Minton is among the most distinguished names in the history of British ceramics, a firm whose two and a quarter centuries of production encompass everything from blue transfer-printed earthenwares to the most rarefied decorative porcelain of the Victorian age. The company was founded in 1793 by Thomas Minton (1765–1836) in Stoke-upon-Trent, Staffordshire — the heart of England's pottery industry. ...