Mention the practice of flower arranging to most people and the likelihood is that their thoughts will immediately turn to weddings, table dressing and the Women’s Institute. But since long before the ladies from the WI started strategically hiding their bits behind bouquets, flower arrangements have held meaning and artistic purpose for cultures all over the world.

Use of floral displays in our own society has become so frequent that to some they have almost become background noise; most conspicuous when absent. So what’s the reason for this ubiquity? Why do flowers take pride of place in our homes, workplaces and at special occasions?

It seems that a love of flowers is deep-seated in humanity, that we’re hard-wired to appreciate their beauty, colour and scents. There is even evidence of our connection with cut flowers dating back to before recorded history; traces of pollen from ancient grave sites some 60,000 years old confirms burials with bouquets including hollyhocks, cornflowers and hyacinths.

The precise origins of flower arrangement might be unclear, but we do know of its importance to many cultures and civilisations, past and present.

Ancient Egypt

The ancient Egyptians are perhaps the earliest culture for which there are extensive records of flower arrangement. Carvings and paintings from as far back as 2,500 BC depict floral displays being used in much the same way as today; to decorate houses, to dress tables and in religious ceremonies.

Cut flowers including Jasmine, Lilies, Roses and the Lotus adorned their sacred tombs and would be placed as necklaces on their dead. The Egyptian fondness for flowers is also evident in their craftwork; pottery, metalwork and glassware can all be found with floral designs.

Ancient Greece and Rome

Flowers had great significance for the Greeks and Romans (from circa 600 BC), and were most commonly used to create wreathes and garlands. As well as being used in daily life, wreathes were awarded to sporting victors, military heroes and civic dignitaries.

Wreathes (such as the Laurel wreathes awarded at the Olympics) are still closely associated with the two cultures and were deemed important enough to be used as offerings to statues of gods and goddesses.

China and Japan

China lays claim to being the home of many inventions, including paper, printing and gunpowder, but few people know they were also the first to place cut flowers in water to extend their life. The Chinese, along with the Japanese who acquired their knowledge of preserving flowers in water during the sixth century, viewed flower arranging as a true art form.

Without having to rely on the dried flowers using in European wreathes, Oriental flower arrangers used the vibrant colours of fresh cut flowers in highly symbolic displays; reds for good fortune and yellow to represent Yin, the colour of the Earth.

Chinese and Japanese displays also demonstrated a keen appreciation of form, with tall, upright varieties paired with shorter foliage to signify the relationship between the heavens and the earth. Mid-sized flowers symbolized mankind’s place between the two. Eastern flower arrangements still exhibit a deliberate and purposeful sense of balance.

Europe

The fall of the Roman Empire and the adoption of a more spartan way of life with the move from Pagan religions to Christianity saw a decline in European flower arranging until the Middles Ages.

The arrival of the Renaissance in the late 13th century meant a resurgence in the visual arts, with arranged flowers being a popular focal point in many of the period’s great paintings and other artworks. Floral arrangements had come back into fashion and wreathes and garlands were once again popular with the masses.

The popularity of flower arranging has persisted ever since, with the art form featuring prominently in the Impressionist works of painters like Renoir and Monet. Perhaps the most famous tribute to flower arranging of them all is Van Gogh’s masterpiece Sunflowers (the WI calendar excepted, naturally).

Written on Monday, August 31st, 2009 at 7:38 pm in the category Well fancy that!.
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