Brush McCoy Jewell Vase and Cryptomeria japonica

Left: Bruch McCoy Jewell Vase in Cryptomeria japonica; Right: Jewell Vase

In this POTS and PLANTS installment, we pair up a 1920s Bruch McCoy Vase (Jewell Pattern / 6 inches) with Cryptomeria japonica ‘Little Diamond’. The McCoy Pottery (mccoypottery.com) site gives the following description:

1923 Jewell. . . Shaded bisque-like exteriors decorated with high gloss design. Triangular voids within rose-red triangles form border under rows of blue and white dots, squeeze bag technique.

The C. japonica dwarf cultivar ‘Little Diamond’, according to Plant Delights Nursery, is a 1990 introduction from Konijn Nursery in the Netherlands. The species in the wild is endemic to Japan and can reach in the hundreds of feet. C. japonica is the only species in the genus Cryptomeria which is in the Cupressaceae (cypress) family.

In Japan, C. japonica it is known as Sugi. According to Quattrocchi the genus name Cryptomeria has the following origins:

From the Greek krypto “to hide,” kryptos “hidden” and meris “a portion, part,” the seeds and all flower parts are concealed by the bracts.

Left: Cryptomeria japonica in a pot; Right: Brush McCoy Jewell Vase with C. japonica