Lyngby Flower Vases: Daisy, Pansy, Morning Glory and Buttercup

Lyngby Porcelæn's Flower series asks a simple question: what happens when a vase stops holding a flower and starts being one? Danish ceramicist Marianne Nielsen answered with four flattened porcelain forms, each drawn from a familiar Danish bloom. This piece looks at how the daisy, pansy, morning glory and buttercup differ, and where their slim profile earns its place at home.

A vase drawn as a flower head

Most vases are built around a vertical axis: a body, a shoulder, a neck. The Flower vases turn that logic sideways. Seen from the front, each one reads as a single flower head pressed flat, with a small round neck rising from the top edge. Seen from the side, it is a slim disc. The silhouette does the descriptive work, so the vase is recognisable as a daisy or a pansy before a single stem goes in.

Lyngby Porcelæn describes the approach as stringent and almost geometric. Rather than modelling petals realistically, Nielsen reduces each bloom to its most characteristic feature and lets fine lines, grooves and subtle changes of plane carry the detail. That restraint is what keeps the series in step with the brand's graphic, rather than decorative, way of handling porcelain. Lyngby is best known for fluted surfaces, and the backstamp on the base of each piece still reads Est. 1936, a reminder that the Flower series is a new chapter in an old factory story. If the fluted original is new to you, our piece on the Lyngby Vase as a Danish classic sets out that background.

Four flowers, four profiles

The four vases share a construction but not a character. Each has its own colour, its own height and its own way of describing a petal.

Daisy, white, H21 cm

The Flower Vase Daisy H21 cm white porcelain is the largest and the most intricate. Dozens of narrow ribs radiate from a smooth, slightly domed centre to a softly scalloped rim, the way a daisy's ray petals fan out from the yellow disc. In white porcelain the ribs catch light and shadow in turn, so the surface changes as you walk past it. It measures 21 cm high, 21 cm wide and 9 cm deep, and at 1.2 kg it is the steadiest of the four.

Pansy, blue, H17 cm

The Flower Vase Pansy H17 cm blue porcelain takes the opposite route: a few large, overlapping petals instead of many fine ones. Two rounded petals sit at the top, two at the sides, and one broad petal at the front with a small pinched notch where a pansy's face would be. The soft blue glaze and the layered outline make it the most playful of the set. It stands 17 cm high, 17.5 cm wide and 7 cm deep, and weighs 0.72 kg.

Morning glory, green, H14 cm

The Flower Vase Morning glory H14 cm green porcelain is the most architectural. Its outline is a gentle five-lobed scallop, and across the face a series of shallow facets fold in towards a single central point, much like the pleated trumpet of a morning glory just before it opens. In a muted green glaze the facets read almost like origami. It measures 14 cm high, 14 cm wide and 6 cm deep, with a weight of 0.49 kg.

Buttercup, sand, H11.5 cm

The Flower Vase Buttercup H11.5 cm sand porcelain is the smallest and the most direct: five rounded petals in relief around a raised, button-like centre. The pale sand colour keeps it quiet, and its compact scale makes it the easiest to place. It is 11.5 cm high, 11 cm wide and 6 cm deep, and weighs 0.345 kg.

The numbers side by side

Because the vases are flat, depth matters as much as height when you plan where they go. Here are the four as Lyngby Porcelæn lists them.

Two things stand out. First, each vase is roughly as wide as it is tall, which is why they read as round flower heads rather than bottles. Second, none is deeper than 9 cm, and the two smallest are only 6 cm deep.

Why 6 cm of depth changes where a vase can go

A conventional round vase needs a footprint roughly equal to its width. A Flower vase needs only a strip. That opens up places that usually stay bare: a narrow windowsill, a picture ledge, the lip of a bookshelf in front of the spines, the top of a radiator cover, a bathroom shelf above the basin. At 6 cm deep, the Morning glory and the Buttercup will sit on a sill where a standard bud vase would hang over the edge.

The flat format also means the vase always presents its best face. Set it parallel to the wall or the window and the flower outline is what you see, with daylight raking across the ribs, petals or facets. On a windowsill the backlight turns the outline into a crisp silhouette, which suits the Pansy and the Daisy in particular, since their edges are the most distinctive.

A few practical points follow from the shape. The neck is small and round, so these are vases for a single stem, a sprig of something from the garden or a couple of dried grasses, not a full bouquet. The Daisy, at 1.2 kg and 9 cm deep, is the most stable choice for a spot where it might be brushed past. On a very narrow ledge in a busy hallway, the lighter pieces are best kept towards the back of the surface.

Using them alone or as a bouquet

Lyngby Porcelæn designed the series to work individually and, in its own words, especially well together, like a bouquet in porcelain. The stepped heights help: from 21 cm down to 11.5 cm, each vase is a few centimetres shorter than the one before, so a row of all four forms a natural descending line without any styling effort.

For a single piece, let the room decide. The white Daisy sits easily with Lyngby's other white porcelain and with pale wood. The blue Pansy and green Morning glory bring colour without pattern, which is useful on a shelf already busy with books. The sand Buttercup is the gentlest accent of the four and the simplest to slip into a small space such as a bedside shelf or a kitchen windowsill.

For a group, two arrangements work well. Lined up along a sill in height order, they read as a sequence. Clustered with the Daisy at the back and the smaller pieces stepping forward, they become one composition, closer to the bouquet idea. Because each vase is flat, overlapping them slightly from the front adds depth without taking up much more room.

Living with porcelain flowers

All four are made of glazed porcelain, and care is simple: wipe with a damp cloth, or put them in the dishwasher. The ribs of the Daisy and the facets of the Morning glory hold a little dust over time, so a dishwasher run now and then keeps the relief sharp. Change the water often, as with any narrow-necked vase, and use a bottle brush if the inside needs attention.

The pleasure of the series is that it works even when empty. A flat porcelain daisy on a windowsill is a flower in its own right, and adding a real stem simply gives it company. To see the Flower vases alongside the rest of our ceramic, porcelain and glass pieces, browse the full Vases & Plant Pots collection.