Cast-iron urn in jardinère from on a pedestal. The jardinere-shape basin has a reeded band around the rim and a smooth band around the center section. The surface has a serpentine floral band below the rim with rustic motifs around the bottom. The shank is surrounded by foliage and ends in a circular, reeded socle (foot). There are two crested and scrolled floral handles. The urn sits on a Louis Quatorze rectilinear pedestal with central framed palmette and cornice connected to an ogee base. The major characteristics of the art, architecture, and decorative arts produced in nineteenth century are historicism, eclecticism, and mixing multiple styles together. Romanticism and interest in the past led to revivals of the styles, ornamentation, and motifs of the past, and throughout the Victorian era there was a rapid succession of confused style revivals competing at the same time. Interest in the unique and novel, rather than accuracy and perfection, led to mixtures from Classical, Baroque, Rococo, Renaissance, and Gothic in eclectic combinations. Rather than copy specific objects, motifs and forms were adapted to suggest the impressions and associations of an idealized version of the past. The Revival styles are not reflective of their times and are inconsistently applied, often resulting in styles attributed by the majority or primary elements.
The major characteristics of the art, architecture, and decorative arts produced in nineteenth century are historicism, eclecticism, and mixing multiple styles together. Romanticism and interest in the past led to revivals of the styles, ornamentation, and motifs of the past, and throughout the Victorian era there was a rapid succession of confused style revivals competing at the same time. Interest in the unique and novel, rather than accuracy and perfection, led to mixtures from Classical, Baroque, Rococo, Renaissance, and Gothic in eclectic combinations. Rather than copy specific objects, motifs and forms were adapted to suggest the impressions and associations of an idealized version of the past. The Revival styles are not reflective of their times and are inconsistently applied, often resulting in styles attributed by the majority or primary elements.
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The garden in the nineteenth century, typical of Victorian style, tended to be excessively ornamental and complex, combining colors, textures, and materials through plants and garden ornaments. Garden furnishings, such as urns, plant stands, tables, and seating, became essential to the overall design. In Europe in the eighteenth century, a single urn commemorating a person or even was a popular feature in picturesque or Romantic garden style. In America, urns have been a popular feature in the garden since the mid-nineteenth century. This was in part due to systems of mass production developed in the Industrial Revolution that allowed garden urns to be readily available and affordable to the public.
An urn originally referenced a funerary vessel for storing ashes; however, in the garden, an urn refers to a container usually in a classical form, which may be used to plant flowers. An urn generally indicates a large sculptural vessel with a wide mouth and a curved body on a smaller foot that stands on an independent base and may also have handles. Urns could be exclusively decorative or utilitarian, planted with shrubs, flowers, or ornamental varieties. Victorians debated whether to plant in these garden containers, but cast-iron urns were planted more than those made of stone or earthenware. Urns were often displayed in a similar fashion to sculptures, standing on a base or pedestal. They might be single, in pairs, or groups and could be admired as a single work of art or as part of a collective statement. Because urns were more affordable than statues and fountains but created the same visual impact, urns appealed to middle class and became one of the most popular garden ornaments of the nineteenth century. They were strategically placed as the focal point or an accessory to create a specific feeling for a setting. Garden urns were used on porches and verandahs, as well as throughout the garden, to extend the architecture of the house to the grounds, providing a link between art and nature, manmade and organic.
