A pair of unusual 19th century Scottish white glazed fire clay garden vases in the form of Amorphophallus titanum plants by J & M. Craig, Kilmarnock, circa 1890. Restored.

Sometimes known as the corpse flower as its scent when flowering is reminiscent of the smell of a decomposing animal, the Amorphophallus titanum is only found growing wild in the rainforests of Sumatra, Indonesia where it can reach a height of over 10 metres although it flowers very infrequently and even more rarely when cultivated.

 The design of these two vases with their fleshy leaves and sprouting side shoots was done to commemorate the first cultivated flowering of the Amorphophallus titanum at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in London in 1889 which was a major event attracting huge crowds. Subsequent flowerings continued to generate considerable excitement and after its first documented flowering in the United States in 1937 it was adopted as the official flower of the Bronx in 1939.

STOCK NUMBER 4613

Measurements
HEIGHT: 25 INS (63.5 CMS)