A Vase By Any Other Name

Written on April 5, 2010 at 4:03 pm
By Sabine Rothman

Lately, I’ve become obsessed with demijohns.

You know what I mean. They’re those large glass wine jugs with bulbous bodies and thin necks. Considering their proper name—and then my description—the whole thing sounds awful. But they’re perversely attractive—simple, rustic, chic. And it turns out the word demijohn is actually an alteration of “Dame Jeanne” or Lady Jane. So, that’s a bit nicer, although Lady Jane—whether pear shaped or not—might not agree.

I think these fabulous vessels are what I want now because they’re perfect for arranging flowering branches, which are (at last!) coming into season. You just need a couple since the narrow neck supports them—and the effect is stunning.

Last week, I was in Los Angeles where Peter Dunham had a huge such bottle filled with cherry blossoms in his relocated Hollywood at Home. Joel tells me they’ve got a few of these massive examples in inventory. (Apparently, Peter was considering making them into lamps, but they’re just too big. Plus, he must be busy—what with selling all that glorious fabric.)

Dan Marty also has beautiful antique and vintage demijohns at Maison au Naturel No. 819, his new shop on La Cienega.

Where else can you look?

Restoration Hardware has Vintage Hungarian Wine Jugs—$199 each.

And, Vietri already seems to have sold out of their big recycled glass bottle—no wonder for $92—but more should be available mid-month.

I myself am off to plunder ebay.