The Captivating Calla Lily

Aptly named after the Greek word for beautiful - calla - the trumpet-shaped calla lily is a flower that is brimming with symbolism. While it is the official bloom to represent a sixth wedding anniversary this unique flower can be found marking many of life’s rites of passage.

A white calla lily, the most common and traditional, has long been associated with innocence and purity.

It can be found decorating 17th century paintings depicting the Virgin Mary and is one of the most popular blooms to be used during Easter services to represent rebirth.

This is also why the white calla lily is a traditional choice for funeral arrangements and expressions of sympathy.

Pink calla lilies are most often associated with appreciation and romance and are usually gifted in the first flush of a new relationship. Send shades of yellow calla lilies to show gratitude or as a token of your esteem.

Dramatic deep purple calla lilies hint at mystery and intrigue while being uniquely elegant in their own right.

References to this sensual bloom can be found all the way back to Greek and Roman mythology.

Originating in South Africa, it is not known when the calla lily travelled to Europe but depictions of it can be found in paintings and herbal literature dating all the way back to the 15th century when it was first associated with the arum lily. 

However, the calla lily flower as we now known it today only started to appear in popular culture in the Americas at the turn of the century.

 

Art and the calla lily

The French artist Henri Matisse was at the vanguard of the Modernist art movement that developed in the beginning of the 19th century.

It was a time when art and ideas began to evolve away from just representing what the eyes could see and to a more emotive expression of art that spoke to the innate sense of a piece of artwork or the feelings that it invoked in the viewer. 

The sensual, sculptural calla lily flower lends itself naturally to the arts and its graceful folds and curves have captivated artists for centuries.

In Calla Lilies, Irises and Mimosas (1913) Henri Matisse singularly elevated the bold colours and simple lines of the flowers to the front and centre of the painting - giving importance to this seemingly modest bloom/ By stripping away the details and flattening the colours of the background, Matisse directs the viewer's attention to the form and colour of the calla lily at the centre of the painting. 

 

Another artist who was also influenced by the sensual sculptured curves of the calla lily was the American modernist painter Georgia O’Keeffe - a leading figure in the development of the modern art movement in the United States at the turn of the century. 

O'Keeffe's large-scale floral paintings simplified shape and form to its essence and magnified the delicate forms found in the natural world. This is no more evident than in her sensual painting Two Calla Lily on Pink (1928). By isolating the flower and enlarging its contours, O'Keeffe imbues the humble calla lily with a sense of intimacy and feminine form. 

However, perhaps the most famous of the painters to fall under the influence of the intoxicating calla lily was the Mexican muralist and artist Diego Rivera.

Though not native to Mexico, the calla lily has long been grown in the cool, fertile mountains above Mexico City to be sold down in the flower markets of the city. Rivera found profound inspiration from the everyday scenes in the vibrant market of the indigenous vendors with the large, elegant white blooms of the calla lily. 

In his work from this period (1930s) Diego Rivera elevated the indigenous flower sellers in the mercados to the prime subjects of a series of painting celebrating this sculptural flower in powerful visual statements about dignity and culture identity.

In Vendedora de Alcatraces (1938) the flower seller is dwarfed by the almost overbearing majesty of the calla lily stems they sell. This contrast in size emphasises both the physical burden and the quiet strength of the vendor while also magnifying the symbolic presence of the calla lily.  

Through his deep his reverence for native Mexican communities and the indigenous people of Mexico Diego Rivera helped to shape the calla lily's meaning beyond its natural elegance  to associate it with themes of  rebirth, growth and the profound social transformation that Mexico as a country was experiencing at the time.  

It is no coincidence that his series of calla lily flower paintings, created between the early 1920s to the 1940s, coincided with the aftermath and legacy of the Mexican Revolution - a period in Mexican history marked by unprecedented cultural and social upheaval. 

Calla lily jewellery

Through its many incarnations the one single element that endures about the calla lily is the sensual almost organic line of the leaf and the drama of the spathe rising from the centre.

It is no surprise that these features lend themselves naturally to the curving and spiralling shapes of jewellery design. The calla lily's elongated form, with it seamless transition from stem to unfurling spathe, mirrors the kind of flowing movement silversmiths often strive to capture in precious metals like silver and gold.In rings, pendants and earrings, the slender stem of the calla lily can be abstracted into elegant arcs and softened folds that echo the way light would naturally travel around the calla lily petals in bloom. 

Whether you believe this magnificent flower represents love, devotion, sympathy or any of the other myriad of associations connected to it, the calla lily is effortlessly elegant as wedding jewellery, a gift for a loved one or just a call to celebrate spring and rebirth.

We feature a whole range of calla lily inspired flower pieces in our store.

Choose from the glorious mixed metal designs of Guillermo Arregui whose calla lily flowers are rendered in 925 silver with warm cooper accents. Or go for the elegant grace of a simple calla lily pendant handmade from solid sterling silver.

Whichever incarnation of the calla lily you prefer, it remains a beautiful and elegant flower that is sure to remain an inspiration for many years to come.

Shop exclusive and unique Calla Lily jewellery here.