Ikebana Lens Vase: brown patina on order fabricated brass vase

The lens vase is ideal for ikebana flower arrangements. Its form contrasts a smooth, round, hand-inviting vessel shape with a torn opening from which flowers seem to explode. Each lens vase is a work of art on its own, but the understated design allows it to yield chief place to a flower arrangement. The vases both encourage and reward creativity in flower design, both for the serious student of ikebana, or the avid amateur flower arranger.

Lens vases are not cast in a mold. They are constructed one at a time from heavy brass sheet, shaped with hand tools, then pierced while glowing hot to form the torn, exploded-looking aperture for the flowers, and finally patinaed by hand using traditional sculptural patinas.

The rich brown patina is a traditional sculptural patina order, the same formula used on large outdoor bronze statues. It is applied with a brush while heating the metal with a torch. The patina is very thin, so it takes many passes to build up the deep brown.

Each vase comes with a kenzan (pin frog) to fit inside and enable the dramatic flower arrangements you see here, and many more beyond, limited only by your imagination.