The Definition & Anatomy of a Vase

Say the word vase and an image springs to mind, probably of a slender and colorful ceramic container sitting on a windowsill, a few lively floral heads leaning out from its lip to catch the sunlight. But the word vase is also applied to many different objects that could just as easily be called pitchers, jars, bowls, or cups. So what exactly is a vase?

The Definition of a Vase
The English word vase is taken from the French, who derived their word from the Latin vas. This prefix is familiar from the world of medicine, and the source of such terms as vascular and vas deferens. A vas is a vessel or duct that transports any bodily fluid. A vase then is a vessel - hardly a precise term.

This search for a definition is further complicated by the fact that vase terminology is sometimes based on technique or material, yielding words such as pottery and ceramics. However, art historians prefer the elasticity of the word vase, which allows for a wide range of styles and materials.

The Oxford dictionary defines vase as "a vessel, usually tall and often circular in cross-section, used as an ornament or container, especially for flowers." Though ancient Greek vases were tools rather than purely decorative items, modern English seems to have settled on an aesthetic-based definition of vase. Pitchers are for pouring and jars are for storing, but vases exist to look beautiful and hold decorative objects such as flowers.

The Anatomy of a Vase
Considering the use of the word vas to describe human anatomy, it seems appropriate that vases too have their own anatomical terms. In fitting fashion, those words are taken directly from the human body.

The pedestal or base of a vase is commonly known as the foot. Above the foot is the vase's body, usually the largest portion of a vase. Like human bodies, vase bodies can be slender or bulbous, round or wide. The neck sits above the body of a vase. Necks are typically long and slender. Vase necks are sometimes longer than vase bodies, and some vase designs combine the neck and body together into one continuous shape. Lastly, vase necks end in a rim known as the lip.

Vases, like people, can also have handles, though we drop the word "love" when referring to vase handles.