With beautiful Roses now in full bloom here in the South East of England, I thought it an appropriate time to showcase two fine modern silver Rose Bowls that we currently have in stock.
The first is an important
Arts and Crafts silver rose bowl and cover, the compressed circular bowl with vine embossed shoulders and cable bordered pedestal base, the pierced ribbon and reeded bar cover with an amethyst mounted crown finial. By Cecil Walker, London 1927. Chased by Benjamin. J. Colson.
The Bowl was Exhibited at the Arts & Crafts Exhibition Society in their Fourteenth Exhibition at the Galleries of the Royal Academy in 1928 (Original catalogue included). It is entered in the catalogue (No 235) under Benjamin Colson's name because it was principally his work (as explained in the exhibition rules).
The second is a fine and heavy modern silver
Centrepiece Rosebowl, of circular form with bark effect textured bellied sides and slightly dished plain base, the pierced openwork cover with plain silver rim and gilded textured frame with central Tudor Rose motif. The base engraved with presentation inscription - 'CCT - DVAW 18.1.1923-1973'. By Gerald Benney, London 1972.
As beautiful as roses always look growing amid their natural surroundings, they seem, more than any other flowers, to be spoilt when picked. This is almost invariably because the right kind of vase is not chosen for them.
One often sees them in a little trumpet-shaped vase with a very narrow base, into which their stalks are crammed, and as they need a great deal of water, they begin to droop at once when treated in this way.
There is no doubt that the ideal vase for roses is a bowl of one sort or another, for here they can be arranged in masses, with plenty of foliage, so that they look as natural as possible. The hothouse-grown roses are very difficult to arrange in this fashion, as their heads are apt to be limp and to droop, but the outdoor-grown ones with stiff stalks are quite easy to manage.
The kind of bowl on which one's choice will fall will depend largely on where it is to be placed, but for the table nothing can be better than pure sterling silver!
