A jardinière is a large ornamental stand or holder to display potted plants or cut flowers. The jardinière first appeared in the 1760s, when flower arranging became a popular way to provide visual stimulation to compensate for the increasing austerity of ornamentation and the rectilinearity of wall panelling and furniture in the Louis XVI Style.
Jardinière: A Case Study
This jardinière was created by Émile Reiber, the editor of the critical publication L’art pour tous in 1861 and the chief of the composition and design studios at Christofle in 1865. The design is decorated in Japanese style with bunches of flowers and flowering branches and has applied pinecone feet and handles. The use of contrasting metal colours and finishes reflects the influence of Japanese mixed-metal objects (mokume) on European and American decorative arts, as seen in the works by Christofle et Cie of Paris, Elkington’s in Birmingham, and Tiffany & Co. in New York. This jardinière is part of a series of objects produced in this style, and it, or a similar example, was exhibited at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1878. Christofle also created variations with different colour combinations.
Sources
Boyce, C. (1985). The Wordsworth Dictionary of Furniture. Wordsworth Reference.