History of Vase

At the beginning, vase was not only used as a vessel for a bunch of flower. Vase was also used for absorb water and oil. At that time, the vase was usually had handles on the vase’s body. It appeared at the gala dinner and banquet from the ancient people. They used vase that was similar to kettle and jar.

Beautiful in form and embellished with incised patterns, modeled or painted figures or scenes, and sometimes inscriptions, the vase became a work of art in early times. Greek painted vases are in form and color among the most exquisite examples of ancient art. Vases or their fragments discovered in burial chambers and through excavations in various countries serve as records of the manners, customs, and history of their peoples. Buddhist and Christian altar objects include the vase, usually of silver or gold with chased or modeled designs of exquisite workmanship. Bronze and brass are much employed for vases in Asia, as well as porcelain, carved jade, and crystal in China and enamelware in the Satsuma and Kutani vases of Japan. The vase of cloisonné is also much in evidence in East Asia. The Persian pottery type is famous for its blue-green color, French Sèvres for miniature medallions, English Wedgwood for cameo reliefs, and American Rookwood for rich tones and underglaze painting.

The ancient Greek used a big jar vase to store water. It’s called “krater”. Since its big size, krater was so heavy and couldn’t be removed. If they wanted to take away the water, they couldn’t simply pour it just like that. They should use another tool such as a ladle to remove water from the krater. Conversely, there was a krater with small design and used to be placed on the dining table. The small krater was not heavy, so they could pour the water inside it directly. Typically, the outside of krater’s body was painted with beautiful picture. At that time, most of vases were made from clay and marble stones.

Vase was also used for storing and keeping something, such as ash. In certain culture and belief, when someone had died, he or she wasn’t buried. The body burnt and cremated instead. And then the ashes were stored inside the vase. The vase’s design was more like a jar. This vase was known as urn. The tradition which derived from the ancient Greek and Romans in order to give respect to someone who has passed away, still going on until now and dilate in few countries.

Vase, which has high art value, was used to be a gift or souvenir. Long time ago, someone who visited another country or kingdom, gave the vase as remembrance to leader or king. It’s also used as a tribute and acknowledgment. On the other hand vase was given to someone who just came back from a war or a long odyssey.

In first century, vase was made from marble stones in big design, which used for decoration at the garden and kingdom palace in Athena. At that time, the vase was usually carved a human relief. The size of vase could reach 2 meters in height with around 1.5 meters in diameters. Beside in Greece, this vase was also appeared in kingdom palace in Rome.