{{Short description|Tableware}} [[File:Celery vase MET DP208117.jpg|thumb|A press glass celery vase, produced between 1850–1870, in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art|236x236px]] A '''celery vase''' is type of glass tableware. Developed during the Victorian era, celery vases displayed celery as centerpieces during meals.
Farmers began cultivating celery in eastern England after its introduction in the early 19th century. It was hard to grow, making it a luxury food item. As a result, upper and middle class Victorian households would display their raw celery in special vases.<ref name="AO"/> The vases were available in ceramic and silver, however, glass was preferred so the celery could be seen in the vase by diners.<ref name="Gordon"/> They were often displayed as dining table centerpieces, either as a stand alone display or to complement a celery dish or dip.<ref name="AO">{{cite web |title=When Celery Was Housed in Beautiful Glass Vases |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/foods/celery-vase |website=Atlas Obscura |access-date=28 December 2021 |language=en}}</ref>
Celery vases were advertised in the United States as early as 1801 and continued to be promoted by retailers, women's journalism, and etiquette manuals. The latter promoted celery to be displayed in the vases and consumed during the salad course.<ref name="Gordon">{{cite book |last1=Gordon |first1=John Stuart |title=American Glass |date=1 January 2018 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-22669-0 |page=99 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JW9yDwAAQBAJ&dq=celery+vase&pg=PA99 |access-date=28 December 2021 |language=en}}</ref> [[File:Celery vase MET DT189.jpg|thumb|224x224px|Celery vase by the Boston and Sandwich Glass Company, held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art]] The vases were common wedding gifts and often were engraved with the newlyweds’ names on the bottom.<ref name="AO"/> The vases began to decline in popularity by 1900.<ref name="Rohrlich">{{cite news |last1=Rohrlich |first1=Marianne |title=Celery Vase: An Antique Cooler Revived |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/07/10/garden/celery-vase-an-antique-cooler-revived.html |access-date=28 December 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=10 July 1997}}</ref> Eventually, the mass production of celery vases and the increasingly easier process of growing celery caused a decline in the vases' popularity.<ref name="AO"/> A 1916 cookbook featured a "Celery in Glass" recipe.<ref name="Byron">{{cite book |last1=Byron |first1=May Clarissa Gillington |title=May Byron's Vegetable Book: Containing Over 750 Recipes for the Cooking and Preparation of Vegetables |date=1916 |publisher=Hodder and Stoughton |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RDPO4N0feM0C&dq=celery+glass&pg=PA70 |access-date=28 December 2021 |language=en}}</ref>
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has a collection of celery vases.<ref>{{cite web |title=Celery Vase |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/1493 |website=Metropolitan Museum of Art |access-date=28 December 2021}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{commons cat}} *[https://www.eater.com/2020/4/29/21240058/celery-vase-victorian-trend-vintage-growing-scallions "Bring Back the Celery Vase"] - ''Eater''
Category:Serving vessels Category:Victorian cuisine Category:Celery Category:Vases