Corfe Stoneware Vase

12kg empty. This is a substantial piece, not a shelf ornament.

The 14cm mouth takes a full bunch as it comes, without thinning it down. It also suits a few large structural stems, pampas, dried grasses or branches, which is what a vessel this shape usually wants.

Stem length. Aim for around 60cm from the rim upward, which is roughly one and a half times the height of the vase for the finished arrangement.

Check the surface can take it. 12kg plus water is a serious weight for a console, a shelf or a glass-topped table. On anything light or wall-mounted, think twice.

The 35cm width is wider than it looks in a photograph. On a narrow console it will overhang, and the handles are the widest point. Measure against the depth of your surface, not just the length.

It also works on the floor, beside a fireplace or at the end of a console, where the weight is an advantage rather than a consideration.

Twelve kilos, and you can feel every one of them.

Most decorative vases at this height are thin-walled and light, which is why they go over the moment they are filled and why they read as ornaments. This is properly thick stoneware, dense and cold to the touch, and it sits with an authority that lighter pottery never manages.

The two handles are what change its character. They reference the shape of an olive jar or a water vessel, something made to be carried and used rather than looked at, and that is the whole reason it reads as collected rather than bought.

Stoneware is fired at a high temperature, which makes it denser and less porous than earthenware, and gives a glaze its depth. On a deep brown that depth matters: the glaze pools and varies across the surface rather than sitting flat.

Because it is glazed and fired individually, tone and glaze pooling vary from piece to piece, so yours will not match the photograph exactly.

• 12kg of dense stoneware, with a weight thin pottery cannot match
• Two handles, giving it the character of an olive jar rather than an ornament
• Deep brown glaze with pooling and variation across the surface
• A 14cm mouth, wide enough for a full bunch without thinning it
• 40cm tall, a statement height on a console or the floor
• Works empty, which is how most vases spend most of the year
• Dark tone that anchors pale timber, linen and warm neutrals
• No two alike, since the glaze varies piece to piece

A room built on pale timber, linen and warm neutrals needs one deep tone to stop it reading flat. A dark glazed vessel does that job better than almost anything, and without the commitment of a dark sofa or a painted wall.

Three thin stems in a vessel this size looks apologetic. Either commit to a full bunch, or a few large structural stems, or leave it bare and let the form carry it.

An underused position for a vase this size. Beside a fireplace, at the end of a console or in the corner of a hallway, with tall dried stems, it fills the dead floor space most rooms have.

On a 40cm vessel you want stems that last. Pampas, dried grasses, branches or good faux stems mean it looks intentional year round rather than only when there are flowers in the house.

A dark glaze against dark timber disappears. On a pale console, a light stone surface or against an off-white wall, the silhouette reads properly.

Hand wash only. A dishwasher will dull a glaze over time, and a 12kg vessel is not going in one anyway. Warm water and washing-up liquid with a bottle brush.

For stubborn residue, half fill with warm water, add a spoonful of uncooked rice and swirl. The rice scours the inside where a brush will not reach.

Check whether it holds water before you use it with fresh flowers. Glazed stoneware is usually watertight, but an unglazed base or interior can seep over hours. Stand it on a saucer or a tray the first time, or use it with dried stems and avoid the question.

Lift it from the handles with both hands, and from the base if it is full. 12kg plus water is heavy enough to hurt a foot.

Keep it off delicate surfaces without a mat. The weight concentrated on a small base will mark a soft timber top.

What to expect. Glaze tone and pooling vary between pieces, and small variations in the surface are characteristic of fired stoneware rather than faults.

It ships packed for a heavy ceramic item. Current timescales and charges are set out on our delivery page.

Not sure whether your surface can take it, or what to put in it? Send us the measurements and we will tell you. Reach us via our contact page or live chat.

If it is not right once it is in the room, our returns process is straightforward, and everything is covered by our guarantees and warranties.

Our price match promise stands if you find the same piece for less elsewhere. Styling a holiday let or a showhome? Ask about trade accounts.