Curious about… Tulpen.
The tulip was introduced to Europe in the mid-16th century from the Ottoman Empire, and became very popular in the United Provinces (now known as the Netherlands).
Tulip cultivation in the Netherlands is generally thought to have started in earnest around 1593 after the Flemish botanist Charles de l’Écluse had taken up a post at the University of Leiden and established the hortus academicus. There, he planted his collection of tulip bulbs—sent to him from Turkey by the Emperor’s (Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor) ambassador to the Sultan, Ogier de Busbecq—which were able to tolerate the harsher conditions of the Low Countries and it was shortly thereafter they began to grow in popularity.
The flower rapidly became a coveted luxury item and a status symbol, and a profusion of varieties followed. They were classified in groups; one-coloured tulips of red, yellow, or white were known as Couleren, but it was the multicoloured Rosen (red or pink on white background), Violetten (purple or lilac on white background), and, to a lesser extent, the Bizarden (red, brown or purple on yellow background) that were the most popular.
With more than 10,000 hectares devoted to the cultivation of these delicate flowers, the Dutch landscape in May is a kaleidoscope of giddy colours as the tulips burst into life. The bulbs are planted in late October and early November, and these colourful creations are ready to be picked and sold as bunches of cut flowers in florists and supermarkets.
More than three billion tulips are grown each year and two-thirds of the vibrant blooms are exported, mostly to the U.S. and Germany.
What Of It? I’m fascinated by how “national” icons get established - costume, food, dress. A national flower is an interesting symbol, one of the earliest forms of branding I suppose, a way of a nation expressing its unique cultural identity. The tulip has become a bit of a joke, debased by a million postcards and windmill covered dish-towels, perhaps a bit lowbrow, when in fact it is a really beautiful flower.
I am Curious about cultural iconography, both positive and negative, about how these totems get ‘designed,’ by what they represent, and how that meaning shifts over time.
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