Braided Grass Vase Large

Plaited stems, worked in relief. The surface here takes its cue from woven grass and rush work — the ribbed over-and-under braid of a basket, a rush mat or a corn dolly — and carries it around a tall body, so the piece reads as texture first and as a container second. This is the large version of the design, which puts it in sideboard, hearth and floor-corner territory rather than on a windowsill. Dried stems suit it: pampas, teasels, wheat, bare twigs, ornamental grasses. It also stands perfectly well with nothing in it at all, since an object with this much going on across its surface does not need filling to justify the space. Four files rather than one. Best in a plain room, where a single strongly textured piece does more than a shelf of small ornaments.