Whoever has heard of celery vases, pray tell me?

I spotted these at the Detroit Institute of Arts this past weekend:

They’re from 1861, blown glass, cut and etched, made by Dorflinger Glass Works, Brooklyn, New York, and White Mills, Pennsylvania.

A further plaque explained that “clear colorless glass, like that for the Dorflinger celery vases, was difficult and expensive to produce, and was therefore especially prized. Indeed, the celery vases are inscribed with the Great Seal of the United States and were designed for use in the White House.”

Still, what is a celery vase?

Apparently, so my Google search revealed, celery was rare in the Victorian era, and thus displayed in these types of vases, as a center piece perhaps. Once celery became more ubiquitous, this practice fell out of fashion. But glass collectors still appreciate these unique vases.