Study of a Wild

The Cleveland Museum of Art has a number of flower studies by the House of Fabergé, made in St. Petersburg in the late 1800s to early 1900s. A single bloom, such as the above Flower Study of a Wild Rose, is crafted and then set into a carved rock crystal vase. The rock crystal vase makes it seem like the flower stem is balanced in a small glass vase with water. The colors are more or less lifelike, depending on the flower involved and the enamel colors available. But the least lifelike aspect is the stiffness–a single bloom could not stand up straight in a cup of water they way that most of these flowers were posed. At the same time, the flowers themselves don’t seem stiff at all–the problem is just how they are posed.

They were created as gifts for the Russian tsarina or for her to give as gifts. You can see the examples on hand at the Cleveland Museum of Art at this link. Each study captures a moment of appreciation for one perfect bloom — small but so significant.

Study of a Wild

Below enamel petals unfalling,
leaded stamens unbending,
the faceted pistil funnels light to the ovule.
Resembling, yes resembling
a wild pink rose with darker pink veins.

One halted in the act of becoming
its own perfection, barely mature,
unwilting, jade leaves frozen,
stem seemingly flexible but not.
All small enough to palm.

One serene moment of wildness
follows another, another. And the
carved rock crystal supports
the endurance of potential, always.

 

Another thing I appreciate about these pieces of art is the way the Cleveland Museum has photographed them. The pale gray background makes the flowers the only spot of color. The lighting creates beautiful shadows of each piece onto the horizontal ground. And they have captures how the refraction of light through the rock crystal really does a nice job of given the feel of real water. Because museums can rarely display all their holdings, having such a nice job done of photography allows online access to be a great alternative to the impossibility of seeing everything in person.