Matthew Solomon Porcelain Tulips

Porcelain tulip by Matthew Solomon

Utterly Sublime    If you thought nothing could rival the beauty of nature, take a look at these lavish porcelain tulips created by ceramicist Matthew Solomon, who often works for weeks on a single complex flower in his studio in upstate New York. A former lawyer turned amateur gardener, Solomon uses specimens from his own garden and those found in historic paintings as inspiration for smaller, complex floral sculptures. They're glazed in a range of hues, as below (Solomon's most luxurious pieces are said to recall the luxurious European design objects seen in the the paintings and Rococo decor he studies). I love the pure white ones, though — for all their exquisite light and shadows, they look as if they might have emerged from a Vermeer.

$560 and up. Emily Summers/Studio 54 carries them exclusively in Dallas.

Porcelain tulips by Matthew Solomon