content: ca. 1860-1940

label: Period

content: Victorian (1837-1901)

content: Wire floral frame with a half sphere on spare base that has a folding stand.

label: Label Text

content: Over the course of the nineteenth and twentieth century floral fashions changed. Some set pieces faded in popularity by the early 1900s, but some remained favorites well into the 1940’s. Many of these same designs are still used today, but the wire frames have been replaced by shapes made from more modern materials to save the florists’ time in making up the arrangement, as well as providing water to the flowers allowing for greater longevity.

content: emblems (symbols)

content: Floral frames

content: frame components

content: wire

content: associations

content: ceremonies

content: decorations

content: Floral Accessories

content: Floral decorations

content: floral designers

content: Flower arrangement

content: funerals

content: funerary objects

content: secret societies

content: societies

content: symbols

content: wirework

content: Horticultural Artifacts Collection

content: Smithsonian Gardens

content: Floral frames

content: Wire

content: 16 × 16 × 15 in. (40.6 × 40.6 × 38.1 cm)

topic:
Funerary objects
Frame components
Floral designers
Floral decorations
Floral frames
Wire
Associations
Floral Accessories
Secret societies
Rites and ceremonies
Decorations
Wirework
Funeral rites and ceremonies
Flower arrangement
Emblems

label: Title

content: <I>Wire frame, half sphere on square with folding stand</I>

title_sort: <I>WIRE FRAME, HALF SPHERE ON SQUARE WITH FOLDING STAND</I>


unitCode: HAC

type: edanmdm

label: Date

content: Victorian (1837-1901)

label: Description

content: Cone shaped bouquet holder made of copper. The vase of the bouquet holder is pierced with stylized flowers over curvaceous leaves and branches. This curvilinear assortment of leaves and flowers connect to the handle at a section of wire mesh in a basket weave. A pin on a chain is attached here that would be pushed through an opening in the vase in order to pierce the stems of the flowers, thus securing them in the bowl. A ring on a chain is also attached which would allow the bouquet holder to be worn about the finger or attached to a chatelaine at the waist. The handle of the bouquet holder was stamped in two parts and follows the curvaceous foliate form that his seen in the vase. It is made of more substantial copper with looped ending with three notches that mimics leaves on a vine.

content: Flowers used for personal adornment were a popular, almost mandatory, fashion accessory in the nineteenth century. Small bouquets, called nosegays, posies, or tussie mussies were carried by debutantes, matrons, and girls, and they were a popular gift in the mid to late 1800s among friends and suitors. They were typically created in concentric rings of flowers, tightly wound together, and were often tied with ribbon or placed in a bouquet holder depending on the tastes and fashions. By the 1830s carrying small bouquets of flowers in decorative holders was an established fashion accessory of the upper class and royalty of Europe. These small accessories, also known as posy holders, ‘porte-bouquets’, and ‘bouquetiers’ were both decorative as well as useful. By providing a water source in the bottom of the receptacle, they were able to keep the flowers fresh throughout an occasion, and they also protected the wearer’s gloves or clothing from being stained by the plant pigments. Queen Victoria helped popularize the bouquet holder, and she is seen holding one in her portrait “Queen Victoria at the Drury Lane Theatre, November 1837” painted by E.T. Parris. When the fashion of carrying hand bouquets in decorative holders caught the fancy of the wealthy and middle class, holders were copied and mass produced in a variety of sizes, materials, and embellishments. During the second half of the nineteenth century, holders might be commissioned or purchased from the stock at a jeweler or florist shop. Few were made in the United States, instead they were usually imported from Europe and Asia. They were often given as a commemorative memento of historic encounters or events by the royalty and courts of Europe, but they were also used to celebrate and commemorate important, though less prestigious, events of the wealthy and middle class. Bouquet holders reached the peak of their popularity between the 1830s and 1880s, but it began to dwindle as bouquets of long-stemmed flowers (the latest horticultural development) loosely tied with ribbons surpassed the posy bouquet style. They were not totally out of fashion until the “Roaring Twenties,” when such objects became regarded as trivial and useless. The diversity of styles and mechanisms of bouquet holders is evidence of their longevity as a fashion accessory.

label: Origin

content: Birmingham, England, possibly

label: Topic

content: bouquet holders

content: bouquetiers

content: copper

content: porte-bouquets

content: porte-fleurs

content: Posy holders

content: tussie-mussies

content: costume accessories

content: decorative arts

content: fashion

content: Victoriana

label: See more items in

content: Horticultural Artifacts Collection

label: Credit Line

content: Smithsonian Gardens, Horticultural Artifacts Collection. Gift of Frances Jones Poetker.

label: Data Source

content: Smithsonian Gardens

label: Accession number

label: Type

content: Bouquet holders

label: Restrictions & Rights

label: Medium

content: Copper

label: Dimensions

content: 5 1/2 × 2 1/4 in. (14 × 5.7 cm)

label: Style

content: Rococo Revival

place: England Birmingham

topic:
Tussie-mussies
Porte-fleurs
Decoration and ornament
Bouquet holders
Costume accessories
Victoriana
Posy holders
Fashion
Bouquetiers
Porte-bouquets

type: City

content: Birmingham

type: Country

content: England

object_type:
Bouquet holders
Copper (metal)

content: <I>Bouquet holder, flower motif with filigree</I>

unit_code: HAC

title_sort: <I>BOUQUET HOLDER, FLOWER MOTIF WITH FILIGREE</I>

data_source: Smithsonian Gardens

type: Images

label: High-resolution TIFF

label: High-resolution JPEG

label: Screen Image

label: Thumbnail Image


label: Date

label: Period

content: Victorian (1837-1901)

content: Silver bouquet holder with ring handle. The vase is comprised of four repeats of a leafy vine and berry design. Through two large leaves opposite one another at the top of the vase is a hole for a pierced-headed-cotter, floral pin. The pin would be inserted through the vase to pierce the stems of a bouquet in order to secure the flowers inside the holder. It is connected to the vase by a long round link chain soldered to a leaf near the base. Halfway along this chain is also a plain finger ring. This arrangement is unusual, as rings typically have their own chain. The ring feature would allow the bouquet holder to be worn from the finger or on a chatelaine at the waist to free the lady's hands while dancing. The holder could also be carried by its handle. Two acanthus leaves form the stem of the handle into a cornucopia laden with grapes, which connects to a large oblong ring. The ring is comprised of a large ‘C’ scroll joined by an acanthus leaf and was stamped in two parts.

label: Label Text

content: Birmingham, England, possibly

content: bouquet holders

content: bouquetiers

content: costume accessories

content: porte-bouquets

content: porte-fleurs

content: Posy holders

content: silver

content: tussie-mussies

content: costume accessories

content: decorative arts

content: fashion

content: Victoriana

content: Horticultural Artifacts Collection

content: Smithsonian Gardens

content: Bouquet holders

content: Silver

content: 5 × 1 1/2 in. (12.7 × 3.8 cm)

content: Naturalism

topic:
Silver
Tussie-mussies
Porte-fleurs
Decoration and ornament
Bouquet holders
Costume accessories
Victoriana
Posy holders
Fashion
Bouquetiers
Porte-bouquets

content: Birmingham

content: England

label: Title

content: <I>Bouquet holder, grape and leaf motif</I>

title_sort: <I>BOUQUET HOLDER, GRAPE AND LEAF MOTIF</I>


content: Victorian (1837-1901)

label: Description

content: Silver filigree vase with tripod base. The vase of the bouquet holder is shaped like a pentagon. Each panel is adorned with filigree designs of a central stylized leaf surrounded by rectangular boarders and thin metal zigzagging strands. These straight panels connect to rounded-arched panels that bulge outward. They are formed with a palmette surrounded by thin members of interlinking silver threads. The base is connected to spherical assemblage of alternating leaves and flowers. Below this section, a chain attaches to a pin. This pin could be inserted through a small hole in the vase to secure flowers in the bouquet holder. A ring on a chain also connects at this point. The ring would allow one to wear it from the finger or attach it to a chatelaine at the waist. The handle of the bouquet holder also serves as a tripod stand. Three curved panels spring out, each with a foot at the end for balance. The form of the legs recall a blade of grass, and are elaborately ornamented with an interlacing diamond and dots pattern. The ring around the top of the legs could be slid down in order to secure the legs together, creating a straight handled bouquet holder.

label: Origin

content: Birmingham, England, possibly

label: Topic

content: bouquet holders

content: bouquetiers

content: filigree

content: porte-bouquets

content: porte-fleurs

content: Posy holders

content: silver

content: tussie-mussies

content: costume accessories

content: decorative arts

content: fashion

content: Victoriana

label: See more items in

content: Horticultural Artifacts Collection

content: Smithsonian Gardens

content: Bouquet holders

content: Silver

content: 7 1/2 × 2 in. (19.1 × 5.1 cm)

topic:
Silver
Tussie-mussies
Porte-fleurs
Decoration and ornament
Bouquet holders
Costume accessories
Victoriana
Posy holders
Fashion
Bouquetiers
Porte-bouquets
Filigree

content: Birmingham

content: England

content: <I>Bouquet holder, tripod</I>

title_sort: <I>BOUQUET HOLDER, TRIPOD</I>

title: <I>Bouquet holder, tripod</I>


content: ca. 1860-1940

content: Victorian (1837-1901)

content: A book in mourning symbolism represented a scholar, the Bible, or the Book of Life. The Bible was a popular adaptation for funeral flower frames and was meant to call attention to religion and be a testament to the beliefs of the deceased. The book ranged in sizes and might be open or closed. It often included a ribbon as a book marker with a favorite verse on it. The Bible was sometimes combined with other floral frames, such as the wreath or cross. It was a suitable design for any age individual of the Christian faith, both male and female. The book flower frame could also be interpreted as the Book of Life. In the Christian tradition, the Book of Life was a ledger of the deeds of the righteous and thereby contained the names of those who would be granted entrance to Kingdom of Heaven. This flower frame was a favorite device for chronicling the name of the deceased, or the open page could also be inscribed with "He Giveth His Beloved Sleep", "I Know That My Redeemer Liveth", and "He Giveth Victory.” When portrayed with an open book, the design was appropriate for the funeral of any Christian. However, when closed, this design represented a completed life, and was, therefore, more suited to the elderly. In addition to the name, a popular inscription for the Book of Life could be “Finis.”

content: Set pieces or set designs were among the most popular floral arrangements in the second half of the nineteenth century. The term set piece is a usually applied to designs in a wide variety of forms, which are often symbolic in character. Shapes that expressed an overall theme for an occasion were very fashionable, such as designs made to depict the profession, associations, or hobbies of an individual. These flower arrangements were ordered for special celebrations, holidays, weddings, and funerals. Typical of the Victorian style, these designs were elaborate and massive, but unlike other forms of flower arrangement, the set piece was exclusively made by the professional florist.

content: Set pieces were usually made up on wire frames in the desired shape, which acted as a foundation for the floral arrangement. Commercially produced, heavy-gaged wire frames, fabricated from either plain or copper-plated wire, became available for flower arrangements between 1860 and 1864. The retail florist business was enhanced considerably by the high demand for arrangements on flower frames in the nineteenth century, and wire frames quickly became the basis of the retail florist’s inventory. The frames could be obtained for little cost to the florist, and if he managed to retrieve the skeleton after the occasion, it could be reused. Wire frames came in both straight and curved outlines and either as a box (three-dimensional frame) or flat frame. Most designs came in several sizes and could be hung or placed on a stand or were free-standing. Standard forms in wire works catalogues ranged in size from 10 to 60 inches. Outside of the standard frame designs offered in wireworks and florist’s supplies catalogues, designs could be made for almost any occasion, with some large enough to make life-sized reproductions.

content: emblems (symbols)

content: Floral frames

content: frame components

content: wire

content: associations

content: ceremonies

content: decorations

content: Floral Accessories

content: Floral decorations

content: floral designers

content: Flower arrangement

content: funerals

content: funerary objects

content: holidays

content: secret societies

content: societies

content: symbols

content: weddings

content: wirework

content: Horticultural Artifacts Collection

label: Credit Line

content: Smithsonian Gardens, Horticultural Artifacts Collection.

label: Data Source

content: Smithsonian Gardens

label: Accession number

label: Type

content: Floral frames

content: Wire

content: 16 × 14 × 12 in. (40.6 × 35.6 × 30.5 cm)

topic:
Funerary objects
Frame components
Floral designers
Floral decorations
Floral frames
Wire
Associations
Floral Accessories
Secret societies
Weddings
Rites and ceremonies
Decorations
Holidays
Wirework
Funeral rites and ceremonies
Flower arrangement
Emblems

content: <I>Wire frame, open book on stand</I>

title_sort: <I>WIRE FRAME, OPEN BOOK ON STAND</I>

title: <I>Wire frame, open book on stand</I>


content: Victorian (1837-1901)

content: Silver bouquet holder with straight handle. The funnel-shaped vase is comprised of a pierced design of stamped flowers, leaves, berries, and vines. Two short lengths of chain are attached to the base of the vase. The first attaches to a floral pin, which would be inserted through the vase to pierce the stems of a bouquet in order to secure the flowers inside the holder. The second chain terminates in a ring. The ring would allow the bouquet holder to be worn from the finger or on a chatelaine at the waist to free the lady's hands while dancing. The straight hexagon handle is etched with linear designs and capped with small ball finial. The handle widens as it descends with beading strips and ends in a point.

content: Birmingham, England, possibly

content: bouquet holders

content: bouquetiers

content: porte-bouquets

content: porte-fleurs

content: Posy holders

content: silver

content: tussie-mussies

content: costume accessories

content: decorative arts

content: fashion

content: Victoriana

content: Horticultural Artifacts Collection

content: Smithsonian Gardens

content: Bouquet holders

label: Restrictions & Rights

label: Medium

content: Silver

label: Dimensions

content: 5 1/4 × 2 in. (13.3 × 5.1 cm)

label: Style

content: Naturalism

content: Birmingham

content: England

content: <I>Bouquet holder, flower motif</I>

title_sort: <I>BOUQUET HOLDER, FLOWER MOTIF</I>

title: <I>Bouquet holder, flower motif</I>


content: Victorian (1837-1901)

content: Gilded brass bouquet holder with white glass handle. The vase is formed by four stamped palmettes. Near the top of the joins are hemi-spherical caps. A chain connecting a floral pin to the base of the vase is looped through a hole near the bottom of one of the palmettes. The pin would be inserted through the vase to pierce the stems of a bouquet in order to secure the flowers inside the holder. The neck, which connects the vase to the handle is formed from an unembellished sheet of gilded brass. The spindle handle is opaque white glass that becomes transparent near its tip. Near the bottom a band around one of the registers connects a short length of round-link chain attached to a ring. This would allow the bouquet holder to be worn from the finger or on a chatelaine at the waist to free the lady's hands while dancing.

content: France, possibly

content: bouquet holders

content: bouquetiers

content: glass

content: porte-bouquets

content: porte-fleurs

content: Posy holders

content: tussie-mussies

content: costume accessories

content: decorative arts

content: fashion

content: Victoriana

content: Horticultural Artifacts Collection

content: Smithsonian Gardens

content: Bouquet holders

content: Gilded brass, white glass

content: 5 × 1 1/2 in. (12.7 × 3.8 cm)

topic:
Tussie-mussies
Porte-fleurs
Decoration and ornament
Bouquet holders
Costume accessories
Victoriana
Glass
Posy holders
Fashion
Bouquetiers
Porte-bouquets

content: France

content: <I>Bouquet holder, palmettes, white glass handle</I>

title_sort: <I>BOUQUET HOLDER, PALMETTES, WHITE GLASS HANDLE</I>

label: High-resolution TIFF

label: High-resolution JPEG

label: Screen Image

label: Thumbnail Image


label: Date

label: Period

content: Victorian (1837-1901)

content: The vase of the silver bouquet holder is in the shape of a goblet. It is beaded along the lip of the vase. Ferns are etched around the bowl of the vase. Below the fronds, floral motifs are etched above and below medallions that encompass quatrefoils. A chain is attached to the vase that would have been connected to a pin that is missing. The handle on the bouquet holder is shaped with and onion domed top and is etched with curvilinear designs. At the base of the shaft, a ring on a chain is connected so that the holder could be worn on the finger or attached at the waist to a chatelaine.

label: Label Text

content: Great Britain, possibly

content: bouquet holders

content: bouquetiers

content: porte-bouquets

content: porte-fleurs

content: Posy holders

content: silver

content: tussie-mussies

content: costume accessories

content: decorative arts

content: fashion

content: Victoriana

content: Horticultural Artifacts Collection

content: Smithsonian Gardens

content: Bouquet holders

content: Silver

content: 5 × 1 1/2 in. (12.7 × 3.8 cm)

content: Gothic Revival

content: Great Britain

label: Title

content: <I>Bouquet holder, medallions</I>

title_sort: <I>BOUQUET HOLDER, MEDALLIONS</I>

title: <I>Bouquet holder, medallions</I>


content: ca. 1876

content: Victorian (1837-1901)

label: Manufacturer

content: Durants (Firm)

label: Description

content: Rectangular terrarium or aquarium made or cast iron with plate-glass windows. The four corner posts are in the form of Doric colums and the base is fluted. A nineteenth=century engraving of this aquarium design appeared in the "Memorial of the International Exhibition," published by the Centennial Exposition Comission in Philadelphia, PA in 1876. Originally a simple glass container, these cases evolved to suit the Victorian taste for decoration. They were made in all shapes, sizes, and styles, such as Gothic Revival, Neo-Grec, Rococo Revival, and Rustic. Cases were often finished with gilding or enamel, as suited to the design and budget of home, and could be made to look like miniature buildings such as churches and famous houses. Often placed on their own decorative stand, these cases became status symbols of the fashionable drawing room.

content: In the mid-1800s, interest in marine and fresh water life soared, which led to the development and widespread popularity of aquariums for the home. Aquariums served as fish tanks or small ornamental fountains in the Victorian home. They might contain wild plants and creatures combined with ferns and fountain feature. Some aquariums were salt-water, providing a glimpse of ocean life, but the majority were fresh-water aquariums. The large plate-glass windows gave a panoramic view of an underwater world and earned the aquarium a place of prominence in many homes. Books and articles were written with instructions on creating and maintaining parlor aquariums, as well as what forms of plant and animal life to stock in it. Water plants and animals were often transplanted from the wild to the drawing room to recreate an encapsulated living world. Victorians watched the antics, growing cycles, and symbiotic relationships that flourished within their parlor aquarium. Soon every home wanted an aquarium and, with price cutting innovations of the Industrial Revolution, many homes could now afford one. Because of their popularity, aquariums were mass produced in a variety of materials and sizes, and they were frequently combined with a Wardian case, bird cage, or plant stand to form a large showpiece for the parlors or conservatories of the mid-to-late-nineteenth century. Aquariums created an ostentatious display that provided an escape from the city and were evidence of the owner’s social superiority and interests in natural history. The household aquarium was a source of entertainment, but it also afforded Victorians with opportunity to for scientific study of the plants and creatures behind the glass.

label: Mark(s)

content: Durants

label: Inscription(s)

content: Inscription: Patent Dec. '76.

label: Topic

content: aquariums (containers)

content: case furniture

content: cases (containers)

content: cast iron

content: ferneries (greenhouses)

content: glass

content: plate glass

content: terrariums

content: Wardian cases

content: Garden ornaments and furniture

content: indoor gardening

content: Victoriana

label: See more items in

content: Horticultural Artifacts Collection

content: Smithsonian Gardens, Horticultural Artifacts Collection. Gift of Russell O'Harra

content: Smithsonian Gardens

content: Aquariums

content: Glass gardens

content: Cast iron, plate glass, paint

content: 21 1/2 × 35 × 19 1/2 in. (54.6 × 88.9 × 49.5 cm)

content: Neoclassical

topic:
Ferneries (greenhouses)
Cast iron
Glass
Indoor gardening
Plate glass
Cases (containers)
Gardens
Case furniture
Furnishings
Victoriana
Wardian cases
Terrariums
Aquariums (containers)

object_type:
Glass gardens
Aquariums (containers)

content: <I>Aquarium or terrarium, Roman columns</I>

title_sort: <I>AQUARIUM OR TERRARIUM, ROMAN COLUMNS</I>


content: Victorian (1837-1901)

content: Silver(?)-plated copper-alloy bouquet holder with scrolls and loop handle. The vase is stamped with an ornate pattern of imitation granulation and narrow, curving leaves. The curved handle is formed from a stamped design of scrolling foliage that flares off the main body. The handle ends in a closed loop the reaches the midpoint of this ornate handle. A ring connected to a short length of chain comprised of loops alternating with flower-stamped links is attached to the bud on the handle. The ring would allow the bouquet holder to be worn from the finger or on a chatelaine at the waist to free the lady's hands while dancing

content: Flowers used for personal adornment were a popular, almost mandatory, fashion accessory in the nineteenth century. Small bouquets, called nosegays, posies, or tussie mussies were carried by debutantes, matrons, and girls, and they were a popular gift in the mid to late 1800s among friends and suitors. They were typically created in concentric rings of flowers, tightly wound together, and were often tied with ribbon or placed in a bouquet holder depending on the tastes and fashions. By the 1830s carrying small bouquets of flowers in decorative holders was an established fashion accessory of the upper class and royalty of Europe. These small accessories, also known as posy holders, ‘porte-bouquets’, and ‘bouquetiers’ were both decorative as well as useful. By providing a water source in the bottom of the receptacle, they were able to keep the flowers fresh throughout an occasion, and they also protected the wearer’s gloves or clothing from being stained by the plant pigments. Queen Victoria helped popularize the bouquet holder, and she is seen holding one in her portrait “Queen Victoria at the Drury Lane Theatre, November 1837” painted by E.T. Parris. When the fashion of carrying hand bouquets in decorative holders caught the fancy of the wealthy and middle class, holders were copied and mass produced in a variety of sizes, materials, and embellishments. During the second half of the nineteenth century, holders might be commissioned or purchased from the stock at a jeweler or florist shop. Few were made in the United States, instead they were usually imported from Europe and Asia. They were often given as a commemorative memento of historic encounters or events by the royalty and courts of Europe, but they were also used to celebrate and commemorate important, though less prestigious, events of the wealthy and middle class. Bouquet holders reached the peak of their popularity between the 1830s and 1880s, but it began to dwindle as bouquets of long-stemmed flowers (the latest horticultural development) loosely tied with ribbons surpassed the posy bouquet style. They were not totally out of fashion until the “Roaring Twenties,” when such objects became regarded as trivial and useless. The diversity of styles and mechanisms of bouquet holders is evidence of their longevity as a fashion accessory.

label: Origin

content: Birmingham, England, possibly

content: bouquet holders

content: bouquetiers

content: porte-bouquets

content: porte-fleurs

content: Posy holders

content: silver

content: tussie-mussies

content: costume accessories

content: decorative arts

content: fashion

content: Victoriana

content: Horticultural Artifacts Collection

label: Credit Line

content: Smithsonian Gardens, Horticultural Artifacts Collection. Gift of Frances Jones Poetker.

label: Data Source

content: Smithsonian Gardens

label: Accession number

label: Type

content: Bouquet holders

label: Restrictions & Rights

label: Medium

content: Copper alloy, silver plating

content: 5 1/2 × 1 3/4 in. (14 × 4.4 cm)

content: Renaissance Revival

content: Birmingham

content: England

content: <I>Bouquet holder, scroll and leaf motif</I>

title_sort: <I>BOUQUET HOLDER, SCROLL AND LEAF MOTIF</I>


label: Date

content: ca. 1830-1920

content: Victorian (1837-1901)

content: Silver filigree vase and handle. The vase of the bouquet holder is made of silver filigree wires interlaced in a basket weave pattern. This creates a tulip shape for the vase. The rim of the vase is jagged with pointed arches where the wires reach the top and twist down into the weave again. There are two round openings that are surrounded in a flower-like frame where a pin would have been inserted. The pin would have secured the flowers from falling out of the holder. The pin would have been attached to the holder by a short length of chain, however these are missing. The three-part spindle handle of the bouquet holder is a straight and made by relatively thick wires atop a fine filigree network with a tube support underneath. Beadwork encircles different levels of the handle, which are elaborately ornamented with scrolling over an intricately textured surface. The upper register and bottom of the handle are encircled with applied flowers formed with a central bead surrounded by two circles of petals. It is missing the bottom, to which a chain for a finger ring would have been attached. This feature would allow the bouquet holder to be worn from the finger or on a chatelaine to free the lady's hands while dancing.

content: China, possibly

content: bouquet holders

content: bouquetiers

content: filigree

content: porte-bouquets

content: porte-fleurs

content: Posy holders

content: silver

content: tussie-mussies

content: costume accessories

content: decorative arts

content: fashion

content: Victoriana

content: wirework

content: Horticultural Artifacts Collection

content: Smithsonian Gardens

content: Bouquet holders

content: Silver

label: Dimensions

content: 6 1/2 × 2 in. (16.5 × 5.1 cm)

topic:
Tussie-mussies
Porte-fleurs
Bouquet holders
Costume accessories
Fashion
Filigree
Silver
Decoration and ornament
Wirework
Victoriana
Posy holders
Bouquetiers
Porte-bouquets

content: China

content: <I>Bouquet holder, wire and filigree</I>

title_sort: <I>BOUQUET HOLDER, WIRE AND FILIGREE</I>

label: High-resolution TIFF

label: High-resolution JPEG

label: Screen Image

label: Thumbnail Image


label: Period

content: Victorian (1837-1901)

label: Description

content: Gilded metal bouquet holder with bone handle. The funnel-shaped vase is comprised of openwork scrolls and ropes. Three stones are set into the vase in green, red, and purple. The spindle handle is made from turned bone a gold band around the tip.

label: Label Text

content: bouquet holders

content: bouquetiers

content: porte-bouquets

content: porte-fleurs

content: Posy holders

content: tussie-mussies

content: costume accessories

content: decorative arts

content: fashion

content: Victoriana

content: Horticultural Artifacts Collection

content: Smithsonian Gardens

content: Bouquet holders

content: Gilded metal, bone

content: 5 × 2 in. (12.7 × 5.1 cm)

label: Style

content: Rococo Revival

label: Title

content: <I>Bouquet holder, jeweled, bone handle</I>

title_sort: <I>BOUQUET HOLDER, JEWELED, BONE HANDLE</I>


content: Victorian (1837-1901)

content: Gilded metal bouquet holder with straight handle. The elaborate, pierced vase is comprised of two mermaids among leaves and scrolls with applied beading. The neck, which connects the vase to the handle, is a hemispherical shape acting as a cap for the top of the bell-shaped vase. Attached to the join below this is a round-link chain that is connected to a simple ring. The ring would allow the bouquet holder to be worn from the finger or on a chatelaine at the waist to free the lady's hands while dancing. The handle is hexagonal with panels stamped with a column of foliate motifs facing in alternating directions. A large-ball finial completes the design.

label: Origin

content: Birmingham, England, possibly

label: Topic

content: bouquet holders

content: bouquetiers

content: porte-bouquets

content: porte-fleurs

content: Posy holders

content: tussie-mussies

content: costume accessories

content: decorative arts

content: fashion

content: Victoriana

label: See more items in

content: Horticultural Artifacts Collection

label: Credit Line

content: Smithsonian Gardens

content: Bouquet holders

content: Gilded metal

content: 6 1/4 × 2 1/4 in. (15.9 × 5.7 cm)

content: Renaissance Revival

content: Birmingham

content: England

content: <I>Bouquet holder, mermaid motif</I>

title_sort: <I>BOUQUET HOLDER, MERMAID MOTIF</I>

title: <I>Bouquet holder, mermaid motif</I>


content: ca. 1860-1960

content: Victorian (1837-1901)

content: The harp was a popular design for funeral flower tributes in the nineteenth century. It could be free standing, hung, placed on a pillow, or within a wreath or crescent. The harp was appropriate for both men and women, the young and the old. Like the lyre flower frame, the harp represented harmony between heaven and earth, and it was a symbol of both peace and musical talent. The harp flower frames were especially popular for young and adult women due to the angelic theme. The Silent Harp design would be given a snapped string to indicate that the harp would play no more to exemplify the loved one silenced by death. The strings could be made from a variety of materials including flowers, wire, and fabric strips such as chenille.

content: Set pieces or set designs were among the most popular floral arrangements in the second half of the nineteenth century. The term set piece is a usually applied to designs in a wide variety of forms, which are often symbolic in character. Shapes that expressed an overall theme for an occasion were very fashionable, such as designs made to depict the profession, associations, or hobbies of an individual. These flower arrangements were ordered for special celebrations, holidays, weddings, and funerals. Typical of the Victorian style, these designs were elaborate and massive, but unlike other forms of flower arrangement, the set piece was exclusively made by the professional florist.

content: Set pieces were usually made up on wire frames in the desired shape, which acted as a foundation for the floral arrangement. Commercially produced, heavy-gaged wire frames, fabricated from either plain or copper-plated wire, became available for flower arrangements between 1860 and 1864. The retail florist business was enhanced considerably by the high demand for arrangements on flower frames in the nineteenth century, and wire frames quickly became the basis of the retail florist’s inventory. The frames could be obtained for little cost to the florist, and if he managed to retrieve the skeleton after the occasion, it could be reused. Wire frames came in both straight and curved outlines and either as a box (three-dimensional frame) or flat frame. Most designs came in several sizes and could be hung or placed on a stand or were free-standing. Standard forms in wire works catalogues ranged in size from 10 to 60 inches. Outside of the standard frame designs offered in wireworks and florist’s supplies catalogues, designs could be made for almost any occasion, with some large enough to make life-sized reproductions.

content: Over the course of the nineteenth and twentieth century floral fashions changed. Some set pieces faded in popularity by the early 1900s, but some remained favorites well into the 1940’s. Many of these same designs are still used today, but the wire frames have been replaced by shapes made from more modern materials to save the florists’ time in making up the arrangement, as well as providing water to the flowers allowing for greater longevity.

content: emblems (symbols)

content: Floral frames

content: frame components

content: wire

content: associations

content: ceremonies

content: decorations

content: Floral Accessories

content: Floral decorations

content: floral designers

content: Flower arrangement

content: funerals

content: funerary objects

content: harps (chordophones)

content: symbols

content: weddings

content: wirework

content: Horticultural Artifacts Collection

label: Data Source

content: Smithsonian Gardens

label: Accession number

label: Type

content: Floral frames

label: Restrictions & Rights

content: Wire

content: 22 × 18 × 1 in. (55.9 × 45.7 × 2.5 cm)

topic:
Funerary objects
Frame components
Floral designers
Floral decorations
Harps (chordophones)
Floral frames
Wire
Associations
Floral Accessories
Weddings
Rites and ceremonies
Decorations
Wirework
Funeral rites and ceremonies
Flower arrangement
Emblems

content: <I>Wire frame, harp, flat</I>

title_sort: <I>WIRE FRAME, HARP, FLAT</I>

title: <I>Wire frame, harp, flat</I>


label: Date

content: ca. 1879-1962

content: Victorian (1837-1901)

content: Heart floral designs came in a variety of styles and sizes, and it could be an open design or filled-in with flowers. The heart was popular at romantic occasions, such as weddings, anniversaries, and Valentine’s Day. The practice of using flowers at weddings is a time-honored tradition across cultures and religions. In the nineteenth century in America, wedding ceremonies were generally held in the bride’s home, and the floral arrangements were the primary form decoration. Set pieces such as a suspended bell, ox yoke, lock and key, lover’s knots, and monograms were popular wedding designs created using wire forms and were usually the most impressive arrangements. The set pieces were placed in the most visible locations, such as in front of mirrors or over the fireplace, and they were hung from the ceiling in doorways and archways of the bay window or elevated on the mantle. The heart flower arrangement was also a common option for the funeral in the nineteenth century. The basic heart design could also be modified to suggest a broken heart with a zigzag or crack dividing it in two. It could also be changed into a bleeding heart with cascading red roses from a point in the center. Both designs represented intense loss and sorrow over the death of a loved one.

content: emblems (symbols)

content: Floral frames

content: frame components

content: hearts (motifs)

content: wire

content: associations

content: ceremonies

content: decorations

content: Floral Accessories

content: Floral decorations

content: floral designers

content: Flower arrangement

content: funerals

content: funerary objects

content: holidays

content: symbols

content: weddings

content: wirework

content: Horticultural Artifacts Collection

content: Smithsonian Gardens, Horticultural Artifacts Collection. Gift of H. Weber & Sons Company.

content: Smithsonian Gardens

content: Floral frames

label: Medium

content: Wire

label: Dimensions

content: 13 × 10 × 1 in. (33 × 25.4 × 2.5 cm)

topic:
Funerary objects
Frame components
Floral designers
Floral decorations
Floral frames
Hearts (motifs)
Wire
Associations
Floral Accessories
Weddings
Rites and ceremonies
Decorations
Holidays
Wirework
Funeral rites and ceremonies
Flower arrangement
Emblems

content: <I>Wire frame, heart</I>

title_sort: <I>WIRE FRAME, HEART</I>

label: High-resolution TIFF

title: <I>Wire frame, heart</I>


content: ca. 1860-1940

label: Period

content: Victorian (1837-1901)

content: It was common for social or business organizations to send flowers to the funerals of deceased members in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. Flowers were sent by friendly and fraternal societies, temperance leagues, social clubs, veteran’s organization, and worker’s unions, among others. The floral tributes were often set pieces patterned after the emblem of the organization or club with flowers and ribbons in their colors. Designs had to be recognizable, thus accuracy was important for the florist, each flower frame must be made to an exact shape and carefully arranged with flowers in the appropriate colors. Depending on the size of the floral recreation, elements might be added or subtracted while maintaining an accurate overall impression of the emblem. In addition to the organization’s emblem recreated on flower frames, many of their other symbols, or assemblages of multiple symbols were recreated out of wire frames for floral arrangements. Emblem set pieces were also used for organizational functions other than just funerals, such as private ceremonies or special events sponsored by the group. Organizational emblem frames often comprised a significant portion of floral frame trade catalogs. The Young People’s Society of Christian Endeavor is a nondenominational evangelical society founded in 1881 in Portland, Maine. The aim of the club was to promote a Christian life, make themselves useful to God, and increase fellowship. The emblem of the Christian Endeavor is a letter E within a circle.

content: emblems (symbols)

content: Floral frames

content: frame components

content: wire

content: associations

content: ceremonies

content: decorations

content: Floral Accessories

content: Floral decorations

content: floral designers

content: Flower arrangement

content: funerals

content: funerary objects

content: secret societies

content: societies

content: symbols

content: wirework

content: Horticultural Artifacts Collection

content: Smithsonian Gardens, Horticultural Artifacts Collection.

content: Smithsonian Gardens

content: Floral frames

content: Wire

content: 13 1/2 × 11 1/2 × 1 in. (34.3 × 29.2 × 2.5 cm)

content: <I>Wire frame, Christian Endeavor emblem</I>

title_sort: <I>WIRE FRAME, CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR EMBLEM</I>

label: High-resolution JPEG

label: Screen Image

label: Thumbnail Image


content: Victorian (1837-1901)

label: Description

content: Silver-plated bouquet holder with spade handle. The vase is pierce-cut with two stamped repeats of a pattern featuring a large open-winged butterfly. A hole for the floral pin is disguised within one of the upper portions of a butterfly’s wing. The pin would be inserted through the vase to pierce the stems of a bouquet in order to secure the flowers inside the holder. Below the butterfly is a network of flowers, leaves, and swirls. The entire surface is embellished with imitation-granulation and beading. The neck, which connects the vase to the handle, is formed by two acanthus leaves flanking the vase and splaying outwards. The handle is in a Gothic Revival trefoil shape that incorporates acanthus leaves on the inner and outer surfaces. A British registry of designs indicates that the firm of Robert and Josiah Walsham in Birmingham, England was the designer for the stamps used to create this bouquet holder.

label: Label Text

content: Flowers used for personal adornment were a popular, almost mandatory, fashion accessory in the nineteenth century. Small bouquets, called nosegays, posies, or tussie mussies were carried by debutantes, matrons, and girls, and they were a popular gift in the mid to late 1800s among friends and suitors. They were typically created in concentric rings of flowers, tightly wound together, and were often tied with ribbon or placed in a bouquet holder depending on the tastes and fashions. By the 1830s carrying small bouquets of flowers in decorative holders was an established fashion accessory of the upper class and royalty of Europe. These small accessories, also known as posy holders, ‘porte-bouquets’, and ‘bouquetiers’ were both decorative as well as useful. By providing a water source in the bottom of the receptacle, they were able to keep the flowers fresh throughout an occasion, and they also protected the wearer’s gloves or clothing from being stained by the plant pigments. Queen Victoria helped popularize the bouquet holder, and she is seen holding one in her portrait “Queen Victoria at the Drury Lane Theatre, November 1837” painted by E.T. Parris. When the fashion of carrying hand bouquets in decorative holders caught the fancy of the wealthy and middle class, holders were copied and mass produced in a variety of sizes, materials, and embellishments. During the second half of the nineteenth century, holders might be commissioned or purchased from the stock at a jeweler or florist shop. Few were made in the United States, instead they were usually imported from Europe and Asia. They were often given as a commemorative memento of historic encounters or events by the royalty and courts of Europe, but they were also used to celebrate and commemorate important, though less prestigious, events of the wealthy and middle class. Bouquet holders reached the peak of their popularity between the 1830s and 1880s, but it began to dwindle as bouquets of long-stemmed flowers (the latest horticultural development) loosely tied with ribbons surpassed the posy bouquet style. They were not totally out of fashion until the “Roaring Twenties,” when such objects became regarded as trivial and useless. The diversity of styles and mechanisms of bouquet holders is evidence of their longevity as a fashion accessory.

label: Mark(s)

content: Registry diamond dates on both sides of lower vase ("R.d"), November (K) 27, 1869 (H), batch 2

content: Birmingham, England, possibly

content: bouquet holders

content: bouquetiers

content: porte-bouquets

content: porte-fleurs

content: Posy holders

content: silver

content: tussie-mussies

content: costume accessories

content: decorative arts

content: fashion

content: Victoriana

content: Horticultural Artifacts Collection

content: Smithsonian Gardens, Horticultural Artifacts Collection. Gift of Frances Jones Poetker.

content: Smithsonian Gardens

content: Bouquet holders

content: Silver

content: 6 × 1 1/2 in. (15.2 × 3.8 cm)

label: Style

content: Gothic Revival

content: Birmingham

content: England

label: Title

content: <I>Bouquet holder, butterfly motif</I>

title_sort: <I>BOUQUET HOLDER, BUTTERFLY MOTIF</I>

title: <I>Bouquet holder, butterfly motif</I>


content: Victorian (1837-1901)

content: Silver filigree and glass bouquet holder with pin attachment. The funnel-shaped vase is made of blue opaline glass with a mounted silver and filigree rose with leaves. On the back of the holder is pin, that allowed the holder to be worn on the clothing. At the tip of the vase a filigree tassel and short length of chain connects to a floral pin. The pin would be inserted through the vase to pierce the stems of a bouquet in order to secure the flowers inside the holder.

label: Topic

content: bouquet holders

content: bouquetiers

content: glass

content: porte-bouquets

content: porte-fleurs

content: Posy holders

content: silver

content: tussie-mussies

content: costume accessories

content: decorative arts

content: fashion

content: Victoriana

label: See more items in

content: Horticultural Artifacts Collection

label: Credit Line

label: Data Source

content: Smithsonian Gardens

content: Bouquet holders

content: Silver, glass

content: 2 1/2 × 1 1/4 in. (6.4 × 3.2 cm)

topic:
Silver
Tussie-mussies
Porte-fleurs
Decoration and ornament
Bouquet holders
Costume accessories
Victoriana
Glass
Posy holders
Fashion
Bouquetiers
Porte-bouquets

content: <I>Bouquet holder, filigree flower, blue glass</I>

title_sort: <I>BOUQUET HOLDER, FILIGREE FLOWER, BLUE GLASS</I>


label: Date

content: Victorian (1837-1901)

content: Bouquet holder with vase of gilded sheet brass and glass handle. The vase of the bouquet holder is fabricated from a single sheet of gilded brass that has been shaped into four panels. Each panel has a hand engraved and pierce-cut geometric shape and stylized flower opening in the Gothic Revival Style. The edges of each panel are stamped with a zigzag seam. Near the base of the vase, round-link chain connected to a thick floral pin is attached. This pin would be inserted through holes on opposite joins near the top of the vase in order to secure a bouquet within the holder. A band stamped with an alternating pattern of different textured chevrons wraps around the band that connects the vase and handle. The spindle-shaped handle is composed of opaque turquoise glass.

label: Origin

content: France, possibly

content: bouquet holders

content: bouquetiers

content: glass

content: porte-bouquets

content: porte-fleurs

content: Posy holders

content: tussie-mussies

content: costume accessories

content: decorative arts

content: fashion

content: Victoriana

content: Horticultural Artifacts Collection

content: Smithsonian Gardens

label: Accession number

label: Type

content: Bouquet holders

label: Restrictions & Rights

content: Gilded brass, glass

content: 6 1/2 × 1 1/2 in. (16.5 × 3.8 cm)

content: Gothic Revival

content: France

content: <I>Bouquet holder, gothic four-sided, turquoise handle</I>

title_sort: <I>BOUQUET HOLDER, GOTHIC FOUR-SIDED, TURQUOISE HANDLE</I>


label: Period

content: Victorian (1837-1901)

content: Gilded metal bouquet holder with glass handle. The cup-shaped vase is comprised of six ornately stamped shields wet with turquoise stones. Two short lengths of chain are attached to the base of the vase. The first attaches to a floral pin, which would be inserted through the vase to pierce the stems of a bouquet in order to secure the flowers inside the holder. The second chain connects to the tip of the handle. The tapered, green glass handle is bound vertically with delicate gold mesh chains, terminating with finial with stamped scroll designs.

content: Great Britain, possibly

content: bouquet holders

content: bouquetiers

content: porte-bouquets

content: porte-fleurs

content: Posy holders

content: tussie-mussies

content: costume accessories

content: decorative arts

content: fashion

content: Victoriana

content: Horticultural Artifacts Collection

content: Smithsonian Gardens

content: Bouquet holders

label: Medium

content: Gilded metal, glass

label: Dimensions

content: 4 × 1 in. (10.2 × 2.5 cm)

content: Renaissance Revival

content: Great Britain

content: <I>Bouquet holder, beads, green handle</I>

title_sort: <I>BOUQUET HOLDER, BEADS, GREEN HANDLE</I>

label: High-resolution TIFF

label: High-resolution JPEG


content: ca. 1860-1940

content: Victorian (1837-1901)

label: Description

content: Stars are symbolic of many things, and they were used for a wide variety of occasions. They are often part of emblems for organizations and the military, and stars were often incorporated into larger arrangements. It was also popular at Christmas time acting as the Star of Bethlehem from the story of the nativity. In mourning iconography, a star is symbolic of wisdom and the Divine Spirit. The use of the star flower frame could be to symbolize wisdom or as more of a decorative device. The Order of the Eastern Star (OES), the women’s auxiliary of the Freemasons, used the star as its emblem and frequently had this flower frame at ceremonies and funerals of its members. Their symbol was a five-pointed star which referred to five biblical heroines – Adah, Ruth, Esther, Martha, and Electra – who achieved virtue in the five roles of a woman’s life – daughter, sister, wife, mother, and widow. Each point also symbolized the central tenets of the organization: fidelity, constancy, loyalty, faith, and love. Eastern Star Organization flower frames had one point face downward in white then green, red, blue, and yellow points arranged clockwise. The letters FATAL were sometimes applied to the points which stood for “Fairest Among Ten-thousand Altogether Lovely” as well as implying that to betray the secrets of the Eastern Star would be fatal. Flower frame designs of national symbols and emblems of the military branch of the fallen celebrated their patriotism at the funerals of active military and veterans. Often flowers the same color as the American flag were employed in arrangements, such as roses, carnations, and cornflowers to create that patriotic red, white, and blue color scheme. Nationally symbolic designs such as stars, American flags, eagles, and many other designs were also displayed in shop windows and at ceremonies for holidays such as Independence Day and Memorial Day. These designs remained popular into the twentieth century.

label: Label Text

content: Set pieces or set designs were among the most popular floral arrangements in the second half of the nineteenth century. The term set piece is a usually applied to designs in a wide variety of forms, which are often symbolic in character. Shapes that expressed an overall theme for an occasion were very fashionable, such as designs made to depict the profession, associations, or hobbies of an individual. These flower arrangements were ordered for special celebrations, holidays, weddings, and funerals. Typical of the Victorian style, these designs were elaborate and massive, but unlike other forms of flower arrangement, the set piece was exclusively made by the professional florist.

content: Set pieces were usually made up on wire frames in the desired shape, which acted as a foundation for the floral arrangement. Commercially produced, heavy-gaged wire frames, fabricated from either plain or copper-plated wire, became available for flower arrangements between 1860 and 1864. The retail florist business was enhanced considerably by the high demand for arrangements on flower frames in the nineteenth century, and wire frames quickly became the basis of the retail florist’s inventory. The frames could be obtained for little cost to the florist, and if he managed to retrieve the skeleton after the occasion, it could be reused. Wire frames came in both straight and curved outlines and either as a box (three-dimensional frame) or flat frame. Most designs came in several sizes and could be hung or placed on a stand or were free-standing. Standard forms in wire works catalogues ranged in size from 10 to 60 inches. Outside of the standard frame designs offered in wireworks and florist’s supplies catalogues, designs could be made for almost any occasion, with some large enough to make life-sized reproductions.

content: Over the course of the nineteenth and twentieth century floral fashions changed. Some set pieces faded in popularity by the early 1900s, but some remained favorites well into the 1940’s. Many of these same designs are still used today, but the wire frames have been replaced by shapes made from more modern materials to save the florists’ time in making up the arrangement, as well as providing water to the flowers allowing for greater longevity.

content: emblems (symbols)

content: Floral frames

content: frame components

content: stars

content: wire

content: armed forces

content: associations

content: ceremonies

content: decorations

content: Floral Accessories

content: Floral decorations

content: floral designers

content: Flower arrangement

content: funerals

content: funerary objects

content: holidays

content: secret societies

content: societies

content: symbols

content: weddings

content: wirework

content: Horticultural Artifacts Collection

content: Smithsonian Gardens

content: Floral frames

content: Wire

content: 14 × 14 × 1 in. (35.6 × 35.6 × 2.5 cm)

topic:
Funerary objects
Frame components
Stars
Floral designers
Floral decorations
Floral frames
Wire
Associations
Floral Accessories
Secret societies
Weddings
Rites and ceremonies
Decorations
Holidays
Wirework
Funeral rites and ceremonies
Flower arrangement
Emblems
Military

content: <I>Wire frame, star</I>

title_sort: <I>WIRE FRAME, STAR</I>

label: Screen Image

label: Thumbnail Image

title: <I>Wire frame, star</I>


content: Victorian (1837-1901)

content: Silver bouquet holder with loop handle. The vase of the holder is formed by four leaves overlaid by large berries on the branch. Near the top of the holder is a hole for the floral pin. The pin would be inserted through the vase to pierce the stems of a bouquet in order to secure the flowers inside the holder. The curved handle is formed from a stamped design of scrolling foliage that flares off the main body. The handle ends in a closed loop the reaches the midpoint of this ornate handle. From the back of the loop an intricate double chain with stamped triangular brads connect the ends to the holder and the floral pin.

content: Birmingham, England, possibly

label: Topic

content: bouquet holders

content: bouquetiers

content: porte-bouquets

content: porte-fleurs

content: Posy holders

content: silver

content: tussie-mussies

content: costume accessories

content: decorative arts

content: fashion

content: Victoriana

label: See more items in

content: Horticultural Artifacts Collection

content: Smithsonian Gardens

content: Bouquet holders

content: Silver

label: Style

content: Naturalism

content: Birmingham

content: England

label: Title

content: <I>Bouquet holder, leaves and berries, double chain</I>

title_sort: <I>BOUQUET HOLDER, LEAVES AND BERRIES, DOUBLE CHAIN</I>


label: Date

content: Victorian (1837-1901)

content: Silver bouquet holder with straight handle. The funnel-shaped vase features a pierced design with feather plumes surrounded by scrolls and arabesques within panels. The base and top encircled with beaded decoration. The handle also acts as a tripod when the finial is removed, allowing the legs to open.

label: Origin

content: Birmingham, England

content: bouquet holders

content: bouquetiers

content: porte-bouquets

content: porte-fleurs

content: Posy holders

content: silver

content: tussie-mussies

content: costume accessories

content: decorative arts

content: fashion

content: Victoriana

content: Horticultural Artifacts Collection

label: Credit Line

label: Data Source

content: Smithsonian Gardens

content: Bouquet holders

content: Silver

content: 6 1/4 × 2 in. (15.9 × 5.1 cm)

content: Rococo Revival

content: Birmingham

content: England

content: <I>Bouquet holder, feather motif, tripod</I>

title_sort: <I>BOUQUET HOLDER, FEATHER MOTIF, TRIPOD</I>


content: ca. 1830-1920

label: Period

content: Victorian (1837-1901)

content: Stamped silver holder formed of four identical female figures and tobacco leaf repeats. Each is dressed in a headdress, necklace, and flowing skirt with boots, and are likely meant to depict the stylized ideal of the "Indian maidens" of the Americas held by Europeans. A hole through one of the figure's chest is for the insertion of pin through the stems of the bouquet to keep it secured in the holder, however the pin is missing. The 'C'-shaped handle has four leaves at the top (alternately textured and polished) made from two stamped repeats. Below there is a ring soldered to the side of a leaf, onto which a fragment of tiny round-link chain is looped for a finger ring that would allow the bouquet holder to be worn from the finger or on a chatelaine to free the lady's hands while dancing. The ring is also missing.

content: Flowers used for personal adornment were a popular, almost mandatory, fashion accessory in the nineteenth century. Small bouquets, called nosegays, posies, or tussie mussies were carried by debutantes, matrons, and girls, and they were a popular gift in the mid to late 1800s among friends and suitors. They were typically created in concentric rings of flowers, tightly wound together, and were often tied with ribbon or placed in a bouquet holder depending on the tastes and fashions. By the 1830s carrying small bouquets of flowers in decorative holders was an established fashion accessory of the upper class and royalty of Europe. These small accessories, also known as posy holders, ‘porte-bouquets’, and ‘bouquetiers’ were both decorative as well as useful. By providing a water source in the bottom of the receptacle, they were able to keep the flowers fresh throughout an occasion, and they also protected the wearer’s gloves or clothing from being stained by the plant pigments. Queen Victoria helped popularize the bouquet holder, and she is seen holding one in her portrait “Queen Victoria at the Drury Lane Theatre, November 1837” painted by E.T. Parris. When the fashion of carrying hand bouquets in decorative holders caught the fancy of the wealthy and middle class, holders were copied and mass produced in a variety of sizes, materials, and embellishments. During the second half of the nineteenth century, holders might be commissioned or purchased from the stock at a jeweler or florist shop. Few were made in the United States, instead they were usually imported from Europe and Asia. They were often given as a commemorative memento of historic encounters or events by the royalty and courts of Europe, but they were also used to celebrate and commemorate important, though less prestigious, events of the wealthy and middle class. Bouquet holders reached the peak of their popularity between the 1830s and 1880s, but it began to dwindle as bouquets of long-stemmed flowers (the latest horticultural development) loosely tied with ribbons surpassed the posy bouquet style. They were not totally out of fashion until the "Roaring Twenties," when such objects became regarded as trivial and useless. The diversity of styles and mechanisms of bouquet holders is evidence of their longevity as a fashion accessory.

content: Birmingham, England, possibly

content: bouquet holders

content: bouquetiers

content: porte-bouquets

content: porte-fleurs

content: Posy holders

content: silver

content: tussie-mussies

content: costume accessories

content: decorative arts

content: fashion

content: Victoriana

content: Horticultural Artifacts Collection

content: Smithsonian Gardens

label: Accession number

label: Type

content: Bouquet holders

label: Restrictions & Rights

content: Silver

content: 4 1/2 × 1 1/2 in. (11.4 × 3.8 cm)

content: Birmingham

content: England

content: <I>Bouquet holder, female figure with tobacco leaf pattern</I>

title_sort: <I>BOUQUET HOLDER, FEMALE FIGURE WITH TOBACCO LEAF PATTERN</I>


content: ca. 1860-1940

content: Victorian (1837-1901)

content: Frame designs which honored the professional life of the deceased were a popular option for the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-century funeral. Vehicles, tools, and products were recreated in flowers to celebrate a loved one’s life’s work. These designs were some of the largest and most innovative designs made in flower frames. Civil servants and government officials often received floral tributes on behalf of their city at their funerals. Floral replicas of badges, city and state seals, and items or tools specific to their work were popular subjects for designs. Firemen often received tributes from their fellow fireman, as well as a thankful city. A fireman’s hat, ladder, fire engine, axe, or trumpet were all created for the funerals of fallen firefighters.

content: emblems (symbols)

content: Floral frames

content: frame components

content: wire

content: associations

content: ceremonies

content: decorations

content: fire hats

content: firefighters

content: Floral Accessories

content: Floral decorations

content: floral designers

content: Flower arrangement

content: funerals

content: funerary objects

content: societies

content: symbols

content: wirework

content: Horticultural Artifacts Collection

content: Smithsonian Gardens, Horticultural Artifacts Collection.

content: Smithsonian Gardens

content: Floral frames

label: Medium

content: Wire

label: Dimensions

content: 8 × 11 3/4 in. (20.3 × 29.8 cm)

topic:
Firefighters
Funerary objects
Frame components
Floral designers
Fire hats
Floral decorations
Floral frames
Societies
Wire
Associations
Floral Accessories
Rites and ceremonies
Decorations
Wirework
Funeral rites and ceremonies
Flower arrangement
Emblems

content: <I>Wire frame, fireman's helmet</I>

title_sort: <I>WIRE FRAME, FIREMAN'S HELMET</I>

label: High-resolution TIFF

label: High-resolution JPEG

title: <I>Wire frame, fireman's helmet</I>


content: ca. 1860-1940

content: Victorian (1837-1901)

label: Description

content: The anchor flower arrangement was difficult to arrange. It required tight work and precise outlining, or the shape of the flower frame would be lost. It was appropriate to send to the funeral of men or women of any age. Anchors are symbolic of many things but was primarily associated with hope in the nineteenth century. The anchor was also an attribute of the allegory of Hope, who was one of the most popular allegories in both the home and the cemetery. The anchor was also the seaman’s last resort in the storm, and all his hopes for deliverance from the rough seas were placed in it. The characteristics of the anchor as a solid, heavy object whose weight held the ship secure made it symbolic of steadfastness and strength of character. Its ability to hold fast amid the pressures of whatever currents, also implied tranquility and faithfulness in the deceased. Many fraternal emblems also incorporated the anchor into their insignia, and anchor flower frames were often given by fellow members of an organization. The anchor was often used in its capacity of a marine symbol for boating as well, and it was given to members of the sailing profession, the navy, and the coast guard. Flower frame designs of national symbols and emblems of the military branch of the fallen celebrated their patriotism at the funerals of active military and veterans. Often flowers the same color as the American flag were employed in arrangements, such as roses, carnations, and cornflowers to create that patriotic red, white, and blue color scheme. Nationally symbolic designs such as anchors, American flags, eagles, and many other designs were also displayed in shop windows and at ceremonies for holidays such as Independence Day and Memorial Day. These designs remained popular into the twentieth century.

label: Label Text

content: emblems (symbols)

content: Floral frames

content: frame components

content: wire

content: anchors (watercraft equipment)

content: armed forces

content: associations

content: ceremonies

content: decorations

content: Floral Accessories

content: Floral decorations

content: floral designers

content: Flower arrangement

content: funerals

content: funerary objects

content: secret societies

content: societies

content: symbols

content: weddings

content: wirework

content: Horticultural Artifacts Collection

content: Smithsonian Gardens

content: Floral frames

content: Wire

content: 37 3/4 × 22 1/2 in. (95.9 × 57.2 cm)

topic:
Funerary objects
Frame components
Floral designers
Floral decorations
Floral frames
Wire
Associations
Floral Accessories
Secret societies
Weddings
Rites and ceremonies
Decorations
Wirework
Funeral rites and ceremonies
Flower arrangement
Emblems
Anchors (watercraft equipment)
Military

content: <I>Wire frame, anchor on stand</I>

title_sort: <I>WIRE FRAME, ANCHOR ON STAND</I>

label: Screen Image

label: Thumbnail Image

title: <I>Wire frame, anchor on stand</I>


content: ca. 1879-1962

content: Victorian (1837-1901)

content: In mourning symbolism of the nineteenth century, arches were symbolic of victory over death. Victory over death is rooted in the tenants of the Christian faith, and in the nineteenth century this concept was magnified. Death and eternity in heaven were seen as the victory of faithfulness. Symbols of victory reminded the Christian that whatever pain and suffering one may endure, they would come out on the other side into glory and heaven. In addition to symbolic shapes, references to victory were made through the “Language of Flowers” by using palm, laurel, or nasturtium. As they alluded to the reward at life’s end, set pieces in the form of victory symbols were especially suited to funerals, but they might also be used at other religious events and occasions.

label: Topic

content: emblems (symbols)

content: Floral frames

content: frame components

content: wire

content: arches

content: associations

content: ceremonies

content: decorations

content: Floral Accessories

content: Floral decorations

content: floral designers

content: Flower arrangement

content: funerals

content: funerary objects

content: heaven

content: symbols

content: weddings

content: wirework

label: See more items in

content: Horticultural Artifacts Collection

content: Smithsonian Gardens, Horticultural Artifacts Collection. Gift of H. Weber & Sons Company.

content: Smithsonian Gardens

content: Floral frames

content: Wire

content: 30 3/4 × 22 × 15 in. (78.1 × 55.9 × 38.1 cm)

topic:
Heaven
Funerary objects
Arches
Frame components
Floral designers
Floral decorations
Floral frames
Wire
Associations
Floral Accessories
Weddings
Rites and ceremonies
Decorations
Wirework
Funeral rites and ceremonies
Flower arrangement
Emblems

label: Title

content: <I>Wire frame, "Heavenly Ports" double arch</I>

title_sort: <I>WIRE FRAME, "HEAVENLY PORTS" DOUBLE ARCH</I>


label: Date

content: Victorian (1837-1901)

content: Small, silver bouquet holder on chain. The vase is comprised of an unadorned tube with a rounded bottom. It hangs from a long sliver chain that would allow one to wear the holder as a necklace.

content: Flowers used for personal adornment were a popular fashion accessory throughout the 1800s up to the mid-1900s. Carrying or wearing fresh flowers was an important aspect of not only fashion but of good breeding and refined tastes. Corsages worn by women and boutonnieres worn by men were essential elements of dress for the tasteful upper- and middle-class Americans and Europeans at social functions. Many wore flowers whenever they were in public, including President McKinley, who wore a carnation in his lapel every day. In 1840, Queen Adelaide, wife of King William IV of the Great Britain and Hanover, introduced the fashion of tucking a small posy into a high waistband or sash, and Queen Victoria popularized the bouquet holder as seen in her portrait at the opera painted by E.T. Parris in 1838. By the 1830s carrying and wearing small bouquets of flowers in decorative holders was an established fashion accessory of the upper class and royalty of Europe. These small accessories, also known as posy holders, ‘porte-bouquets,’ and ‘bouquetiers’ were both decorative as well as useful. By providing a water source in the bottom of the receptacle, they were able to keep the flowers fresh throughout an occasion, and they also protected the wearer’s gloves or clothing from being stained by the plant pigments. Some had a pin or clip attachment that allowed it to be worn on the clothing. These bouquet holders were usually light weight, so not to strain the garment. Similar holders were made for men to attach to their lapels and are often referred to as a boutonniere vase. Bouquet holders were copied and mass produced in a variety of sizes, materials, and embellishments. During the second half of the nineteenth century, holders might be commissioned or purchased from the stock at a jeweler or florist shop. Few were made in the United States, instead they were usually imported from Europe and Asia. They were often given as a commemorative memento of historic encounters or events by the royalty and courts of Europe, but they were also used to celebrate and commemorate important, though less prestigious, events of the wealthy and middle class. Bouquet holders reached the peak of their popularity between the 1830s and 1880s, but it began to dwindle as bouquets of long-stemmed flowers (the latest horticultural development) loosely tied with ribbons surpassed the posy bouquet style. They were not totally out of fashion until the “Roaring Twenties,” when such objects became regarded as trivial and useless. The diversity of styles and mechanisms of bouquet holders is evidence of their longevity as a fashion accessory.

content: bouquet holders

content: bouquetiers

content: porte-bouquets

content: porte-fleurs

content: Posy holders

content: silver

content: tussie-mussies

content: costume accessories

content: decorative arts

content: fashion

content: Victoriana

content: Horticultural Artifacts Collection

label: Credit Line

content: Smithsonian Gardens, Horticultural Artifacts Collection. Gift of Frances Jones Poetker.

content: Smithsonian Gardens

content: Bouquet holders

content: Silver

content: 3 × 3/4 in. (7.6 × 1.9 cm)

content: Other (Chain): 34.3 cm (13 1/2 in.)

content: <I>Bouquet holder, vase on chain</I>

title_sort: <I>BOUQUET HOLDER, VASE ON CHAIN</I>

title: <I>Bouquet holder, vase on chain</I>


label: Period

content: Victorian (1837-1901)

content: Silver filigree bouquet holder. The upper portion of the vase is composed of ten petals with a network of filigree volutes, swirls, and concentric ellipses joined by two stacked diamond plaques. There are two well defined holes opposite one another for a floral pin, which attaches to the handle by a short length of chain. The pin would be inserted through the vase to pierce the stems of a bouquet in order to secure the flowers inside the holder. A neck band connect the upper vase and handle portions. The handle portion is filigree and the interior is open so it acts as part of the vase. When a bouquet is placed inside, the stems of the flowers would extend the length of the bouquet holder. The handle terminates with a sphere of concentric oval panels. A large loop on the end connected a chain that would likely have attached to a ring. The ring would allow the bouquet holder to be worn from the finger or on a chatelaine at the waist to free the lady's hands while dancing.

content: Flowers used for personal adornment were a popular, almost mandatory, fashion accessory in the nineteenth century. Small bouquets, called nosegays, posies, or tussie mussies were carried by debutantes, matrons, and girls, and they were a popular gift in the mid to late 1800s among friends and suitors. They were typically created in concentric rings of flowers, tightly wound together, and were often tied with ribbon or placed in a bouquet holder depending on the tastes and fashions. By the 1830s carrying small bouquets of flowers in decorative holders was an established fashion accessory of the upper class and royalty of Europe. These small accessories, also known as posy holders, ‘porte-bouquets’, and ‘bouquetiers’ were both decorative as well as useful. By providing a water source in the bottom of the receptacle, they were able to keep the flowers fresh throughout an occasion, and they also protected the wearer’s gloves or clothing from being stained by the plant pigments. Queen Victoria helped popularize the bouquet holder, and she is seen holding one in her portrait “Queen Victoria at the Drury Lane Theatre, November 1837” painted by E.T. Parris. When the fashion of carrying hand bouquets in decorative holders caught the fancy of the wealthy and middle class, holders were copied and mass produced in a variety of sizes, materials, and embellishments. During the second half of the nineteenth century, holders might be commissioned or purchased from the stock at a jeweler or florist shop. Few were made in the United States, instead they were usually imported from Europe and Asia. They were often given as a commemorative memento of historic encounters or events by the royalty and courts of Europe, but they were also used to celebrate and commemorate important, though less prestigious, events of the wealthy and middle class. Bouquet holders reached the peak of their popularity between the 1830s and 1880s, but it began to dwindle as bouquets of long-stemmed flowers (the latest horticultural development) loosely tied with ribbons surpassed the posy bouquet style. They were not totally out of fashion until the “Roaring Twenties,” when such objects became regarded as trivial and useless. The diversity of styles and mechanisms of bouquet holders is evidence of their longevity as a fashion accessory.

label: Origin

content: Genoa, Italy

content: bouquet holders

content: bouquetiers

content: filigree

content: porte-bouquets

content: porte-fleurs

content: Posy holders

content: silver

content: tussie-mussies

content: costume accessories

content: decorative arts

content: fashion

content: Victoriana

content: Horticultural Artifacts Collection

label: Data Source

content: Smithsonian Gardens

content: Bouquet holders

content: Silver

content: 5 3/4 × 2 1/2 in. (14.6 × 6.4 cm)

label: Style

content: Gothic Revival

place: Italy Genoa

content: Genoa

content: Italy

content: <I>Bouquet holder, tulip shape, filigree</I>

title_sort: <I>BOUQUET HOLDER, TULIP SHAPE, FILIGREE</I>


content: Victorian (1837-1901)

content: Gilded metal bouquet holder with mother of pearl handle. The vase is comprised of four notched feathers with arrow points piercing the neck band. A short length of chain connects a floral pin to the side of the vase. The pin would be inserted through the vase to pierce the stems of a bouquet in order to secure the flowers inside the holder. The spindle handle is made from turned mother of pearl. Mother of pearl handles retained a cool feeling longer than some other materials; because of this, they were said to be appropriate for warmer months. A second length of chain connected to a ring is attached to loop around the tip of the handle. The ring would allow the bouquet holder to be worn from the finger or on a chatelaine at the waist to free the lady's hands while dancing.

content: Great Britain, possibly

content: bouquet holders

content: bouquetiers

content: mother of pearl

content: porte-bouquets

content: porte-fleurs

content: Posy holders

content: tussie-mussies

content: costume accessories

content: decorative arts

content: fashion

content: Victoriana

content: Horticultural Artifacts Collection

content: Smithsonian Gardens

label: Accession number

label: Type

content: Bouquet holders

label: Restrictions & Rights

label: Medium

content: Gilded metal, mother of pearl

content: 5 1/2 × 1 1/2 in. (14 × 3.8 cm)

topic:
Tussie-mussies
Porte-fleurs
Decoration and ornament
Bouquet holders
Costume accessories
Victoriana
Posy holders
Fashion
Bouquetiers
Porte-bouquets
Mother of pearl

content: Great Britain

content: <I>Bouquet holder, feather motif, mother of pearl handle</I>

title_sort: <I>BOUQUET HOLDER, FEATHER MOTIF, MOTHER OF PEARL HANDLE</I>


content: Victorian (1837-1901)

label: Description

content: Silver filigree bouquet holder. The upper portion of the vase is composed of seven petals filled with a network of filigree volutes, swirls, and concentric ellipses. Below the lip, a star within a circle is supported by the design below. There are two well defined holes opposite one another for a floral pin. The pin would be inserted through the vase to pierce the stems of a bouquet in order to secure the flowers inside the holder. The next section incorporates concentric circles and ovals which creates a floral motif. A chain attachment on this portion would likely have connected to the floral pin. A neck band connect the upper vase and handle portions. The handle portion is filigree and the interior is open so it acts as part of the vase. When a bouquet is placed inside, the stems of the flowers would extend the length of the bouquet holder. The handle terminates with a sphere of concentric oval panels. A large loop on the end would likely have connected a ring on a chain. The ring would allow the bouquet holder to be worn from the finger or on a chatelaine at the waist to free the lady's hands while dancing.

content: Italy, possibly

content: bouquet holders

content: bouquetiers

content: filigree

content: porte-bouquets

content: porte-fleurs

content: Posy holders

content: silver

content: tussie-mussies

content: costume accessories

content: decorative arts

content: fashion

content: Victoriana

content: Horticultural Artifacts Collection

label: Exhibition

content: Floral Fashions: From Bouquets to Buttonholes

label: On View

content: Smithsonian Institution, Quadrangle, S. Dillon Ripley Center

content: Smithsonian Gardens

content: Bouquet holders

content: Silver

label: Dimensions

content: 6 1/2 × 3 in. (16.5 × 7.6 cm)

building: Quadrangle

content: Italy

content: <I>Bouquet holder, filigree and scrollwork</I>

title_sort: <I>BOUQUET HOLDER, FILIGREE AND SCROLLWORK</I>

label: High-resolution TIFF

label: High-resolution JPEG


content: Victorian (1837-1901)

content: Copper bouquet holder with ring handle. The vase is comprised of leaves, branches, and six large pieces of fruit (possibly peaches). The neck, which connects the vase to the handle is formed from a tangle of mesh wires. The handle has a short shaft and ends with ring of foliate motifs. Above the handle ring, a short length of chain connects to a finger ring. The ring would allow the bouquet holder to be worn from the finger or on a chatelaine at the waist to free the lady's hands while dancing.

label: Label Text

content: Birmingham, England, possibly

label: Topic

content: bouquet holders

content: bouquetiers

content: porte-bouquets

content: porte-fleurs

content: Posy holders

content: tussie-mussies

content: costume accessories

content: decorative arts

content: fashion

content: Victoriana

label: See more items in

content: Horticultural Artifacts Collection

content: Smithsonian Gardens

content: Bouquet holders

content: Copper

content: 6 1/2 × 1 1/2 in. (16.5 × 3.8 cm)

content: Naturalism

exhibitionTitle: Floral Fashions: From Bouquets to Buttonholes

content: Birmingham

content: England

label: Title

content: <I>Bouquet holder, fruit motif</I>

title_sort: <I>BOUQUET HOLDER, FRUIT MOTIF</I>

label: Screen Image

label: Thumbnail Image

title: <I>Bouquet holder, fruit motif</I>


label: Date

label: Period

content: Victorian (1837-1901)

content: Copper bouquet holder with curved handle. The funnel-shaped vase has a pierced design featuring leaves and grapes on spiraled vines. A looped clip attached to the lip of the vase allowed the holder to be attached to garments. The neck is a pierced sphere, which connects the vase to the curved handle. The handle has scroll and foliate forms and ends in curl. A short length of chain connected to a ring is attached to the side of the handle. The ring would allow the bouquet holder to be worn from the finger or on a chatelaine at the waist to free the lady's hands while dancing.

label: Origin

content: Birmingham, England, possibly

content: bouquet holders

content: bouquetiers

content: porte-bouquets

content: porte-fleurs

content: Posy holders

content: tussie-mussies

content: costume accessories

content: decorative arts

content: fashion

content: Victoriana

content: Horticultural Artifacts Collection

label: Credit Line

label: Data Source

content: Smithsonian Gardens

content: Bouquet holders

content: Copper

content: 5 × 1 1/2 in. (12.7 × 3.8 cm)

label: Style

content: Naturalism

content: Birmingham

content: England

content: <I>Bouquet holder, grape & leaf motif, curlicue handle</I>

title_sort: <I>BOUQUET HOLDER, GRAPE & LEAF MOTIF, CURLICUE HANDLE</I>


content: ca. 1860-1870

content: Victorian (1837-1901)

label: Description

content: Bouquet holder with cone-shaped vase of silver with gold wash and clamp opening. The vase is divided in three sections with an applied rope-work. Around the lip of the vase is a row neoclassical palm leaves creating a crown-like edging. Two graduated rows of stamped and applied classical palmettes on the upper section and a row of wheat branches in the lower section decorates the vase typical of the neoclassical fashions of the second half of the nineteenth century. Inside the upper section for the vase, a unique double pincer snap-catch mechanism engages a pair of cast metal elements with a stylized leaf design to hold the bouquet in place. There is no evidence of an attachment for a chain and pin. A hole in the bottom suggests an attachment of a chain ending in a finger ring, however both are missing.

content: Flowers used for personal adornment were a popular, almost mandatory, fashion accessory in the nineteenth century. Small bouquets, called nosegays, posies, or tussie mussies were carried by debutantes, matrons, and girls. They were often tied with ribbon or placed in a bouquet holder depending on the tastes and fashions. In 1840, Queen Adelaide introduced the fashion of tucking a small posy into a high waistband or sash, and Queen Victoria popularized the bouquet holder. These small accessories, also known as posy holders, ‘porte-bouquets’, and ‘bouquetiers’ were both decorative, as well as useful to keep the flowers fresh throughout the occasion. When the fashion of carrying hand bouquets in decorative holders caught the fancy of the wealthy, holders were quickly copied and mass produced in a variety of sizes, materials, and embellishments. The holders might be commissioned from a jeweler or purchased from a florist shop. They were usually fitted with a pin on a chain to place through the bouquet after it was set in the holder to secure it. It might also have a ring on a chain to put on the finger should the holder drop it from the hand. Some holders were fitted with a concealed stand which could be released by a spring, allowing the bouquet holder to rest upright on the table. Corsages and nosegays were a popular gift in the mid- to late 1800s among friends and suitors. Toward the end of the nineteenth century, their popularity gave way to bouquets of long-stemmed flowers (the latest horticultural development) loosely tied with ribbons.

label: Mark(s)

content: "PATENT" engraved on snap catch mechanism.

content: London, England, possibly

content: bouquet holders

content: bouquetiers

content: porte-bouquets

content: porte-fleurs

content: Posy holders

content: silver

content: tussie-mussies

content: costume accessories

content: decorative arts

content: fashion

content: Victoriana

content: Horticultural Artifacts Collection

content: Smithsonian Gardens

label: Accession number

label: Type

content: Bouquet holders

label: Restrictions & Rights

label: Medium

content: Gold-washed silver

content: 4 7/16 × 1 1/2 in. (11.3 × 3.8 cm)

content: Aesthetic Movement

place: London England

content: London

content: England

content: <I>Bouquet holder, leaf & wheat motif</I>

title_sort: <I>BOUQUET HOLDER, LEAF & WHEAT MOTIF</I>


content: ca. 1879-1962

content: Victorian (1837-1901)

content: Some of the most popular designs in funeral flowers in the late nineteenth century were those that appealed to the sentimentality of the period. These flower frame designs were both more decorative and more personal in their references. Sentimental designs alluded to lives cut short and the loss of cherished relationships. The broken column was one of the most popular and poignant symbols in floral designs and mourning iconography in the nineteenth century and was also seen in the cemetery, in mourning art, and in sentimental literature. It was symbolic of the end of life, and more specifically the unfinished work and frustrated hopes brought by a life cut short. It could be used in the funeral of a proactive figure in society to emblemize their deeds that must now go undone. It was also commonly seen at the funerals of young persons to express the frustrated hopes and broken dreams that bereaved parents felt over the loss of a child. The idea of dashed expectations by a life cut off was essential to the theme of the Broken Column. It usually ranged in height from two to six feet, and a common inscription for this design, as well as for the broken wheel, was “Broken Hopes.” As an unbroken column, the set piece had different connotations. It was used as a tribute to the lives of prominent members of the community because columns, or pillars, in architecture are essential to the structure as supporting elements and ensure the stability and strength of the whole. Therefore, it was appropriate for the pillars society to be remembered with a pillar in a flower frame. Whether broken or intact, the visual impact of this design contributed to its popularity.

label: Label Text

content: Set pieces or set designs were among the most popular floral arrangements in the second half of the nineteenth century. The term set piece is a usually applied to designs in a wide variety of forms, which are often symbolic in character. Shapes that expressed an overall theme for an occasion were very fashionable, such as designs made to depict the profession, associations, or hobbies of an individual. These flower arrangements were ordered for special celebrations, holidays, weddings, and funerals. Typical of the Victorian style, these designs were elaborate and massive, but unlike other forms of flower arrangement, the set piece was exclusively made by the professional florist.

content: Set pieces were usually made up on wire frames in the desired shape, which acted as a foundation for the floral arrangement. Commercially produced, heavy-gaged wire frames, fabricated from either plain or copper-plated wire, became available for flower arrangements between 1860 and 1864. The retail florist business was enhanced considerably by the high demand for arrangements on flower frames in the nineteenth century, and wire frames quickly became the basis of the retail florist’s inventory. The frames could be obtained for little cost to the florist, and if he managed to retrieve the skeleton after the occasion, it could be reused. Wire frames came in both straight and curved outlines and either as a box (three-dimensional frame) or flat frame. Most designs came in several sizes and could be hung or placed on a stand or were free-standing. Standard forms in wire works catalogues ranged in size from 10 to 60 inches. Outside of the standard frame designs offered in wireworks and florist’s supplies catalogues, designs could be made for almost any occasion, with some large enough to make life-sized reproductions.

content: Over the course of the nineteenth and twentieth century floral fashions changed. Some set pieces faded in popularity by the early 1900s, but some remained favorites well into the 1940’s. Many of these same designs are still used today, but the wire frames have been replaced by shapes made from more modern materials to save the florists’ time in making up the arrangement, as well as providing water to the flowers allowing for greater longevity.

label: Topic

content: emblems (symbols)

content: Floral frames

content: frame components

content: wire

content: associations

content: ceremonies

content: columns (architectural elements)

content: decorations

content: Floral Accessories

content: Floral decorations

content: floral designers

content: Flower arrangement

content: funerals

content: funerary objects

content: symbols

content: wirework

content: Horticultural Artifacts Collection

content: Smithsonian Gardens, Horticultural Artifacts Collection. Gift of H. Weber & Sons Company.

content: Smithsonian Gardens

content: Floral frames

content: Wire

label: Dimensions

content: 48 × 17 × 17 in. (121.9 × 43.2 × 43.2 cm)

topic:
Funerary objects
Frame components
Floral designers
Floral decorations
Floral frames
Columns (architectural elements)
Wire
Associations
Floral Accessories
Rites and ceremonies
Decorations
Wirework
Funeral rites and ceremonies
Flower arrangement
Emblems

content: <I>Wire frame, broken column, large</I>

title_sort: <I>WIRE FRAME, BROKEN COLUMN, LARGE</I>

label: High-resolution TIFF

label: High-resolution JPEG

title: <I>Wire frame, broken column, large</I>


label: Date

content: ca. 1860-1940

content: Victorian (1837-1901)

content: The anchor flower arrangement was difficult to arrange. It required tight work and precise outlining, or the shape of the flower frame would be lost. It was appropriate to send to the funeral of men or women of any age. Anchors are symbolic of many things but was primarily associated with hope in the nineteenth century. The anchor was also an attribute of the allegory of Hope, who was one of the most popular allegories in both the home and the cemetery. The anchor was also the seaman’s last resort in the storm, and all his hopes for deliverance from the rough seas were placed in it. The characteristics of the anchor as a solid, heavy object whose weight held the ship secure made it symbolic of steadfastness and strength of character. Its ability to hold fast amid the pressures of whatever currents, also implied tranquility and faithfulness in the deceased. Many fraternal emblems also incorporated the anchor into their insignia, and anchor flower frames were often given by fellow members of an organization. The anchor was often used in its capacity of a marine symbol for boating as well, and it was given to members of the sailing profession, the navy, and the coast guard. Flower frame designs of national symbols and emblems of the military branch of the fallen celebrated their patriotism at the funerals of active military and veterans. Often flowers the same color as the American flag were employed in arrangements, such as roses, carnations, and cornflowers to create that patriotic red, white, and blue color scheme. Nationally symbolic designs such as anchors, American flags, eagles, and many other designs were also displayed in shop windows and at ceremonies for holidays such as Independence Day and Memorial Day. These designs remained popular into the twentieth century.

content: emblems (symbols)

content: Floral frames

content: frame components

content: wire

content: anchors (watercraft equipment)

content: armed forces

content: associations

content: ceremonies

content: decorations

content: Floral Accessories

content: Floral decorations

content: floral designers

content: Flower arrangement

content: funerals

content: funerary objects

content: secret societies

content: societies

content: symbols

content: weddings

content: wirework

label: See more items in

content: Horticultural Artifacts Collection

content: Smithsonian Gardens, Horticultural Artifacts Collection.

content: Smithsonian Gardens

content: Floral frames

content: Wire

content: 27 × 18 1/2 × 1 1/2 in. (68.6 × 47 × 3.8 cm)

label: Title

content: <I>Wire frame, anchor</I>

title_sort: <I>WIRE FRAME, ANCHOR</I>

label: Screen Image

label: Thumbnail Image

title: <I>Wire frame, anchor</I>


label: Period

content: Victorian (1837-1901)

content: Silver filigree bouquet holder designed so that the stems of the flowers would extend its length so that the base would act as both vase and handle. The mouth is composed of eight petals which are composed of a network of volutes, swirls, foliate motifs, and concentric ellipses. They are worked in curvaceous forms incorporating spirals and tendrils to create floral motifs on the petals. There are two well defined holes opposite one another for a floral pin, which attaches to the base of the petals by a short length of ornate chain. The pin would be inserted through the vase to pierce the stems of a bouquet in order to secure the flowers inside the holder. The remainder of the vase is formed from these thin silver tendrils creating an open lacy aesthetic. The handle portion is filigree and the interior is open so it acts as part of the vase. When a bouquet is placed inside, the stems of the flowers would extend the length of the bouquet holder. From the tiny terminal ball of the holder hangs a stylized chain and ring of silver with unusual lacy detail matching the flower holder itself. The ring would allow the bouquet holder to be worn from the finger or on a chatelaine at the waist to free the lady's hands while dancing.

content: Flowers used for personal adornment were a popular, almost mandatory, fashion accessory in the nineteenth century. Small bouquets, called nosegays, posies, or tussie mussies were carried by debutantes, matrons, and girls, and they were a popular gift in the mid to late 1800s among friends and suitors. They were typically created in concentric rings of flowers, tightly wound together, and were often tied with ribbon or placed in a bouquet holder depending on the tastes and fashions. By the 1830s carrying small bouquets of flowers in decorative holders was an established fashion accessory of the upper class and royalty of Europe. These small accessories, also known as posy holders, ‘porte-bouquets’, and ‘bouquetiers’ were both decorative as well as useful. By providing a water source in the bottom of the receptacle, they were able to keep the flowers fresh throughout an occasion, and they also protected the wearer’s gloves or clothing from being stained by the plant pigments. Queen Victoria helped popularize the bouquet holder, and she is seen holding one in her portrait “Queen Victoria at the Drury Lane Theatre, November 1837” painted by E.T. Parris. When the fashion of carrying hand bouquets in decorative holders caught the fancy of the wealthy and middle class, holders were copied and mass produced in a variety of sizes, materials, and embellishments. During the second half of the nineteenth century, holders might be commissioned or purchased from the stock at a jeweler or florist shop. Few were made in the United States, instead they were usually imported from Europe and Asia. They were often given as a commemorative memento of historic encounters or events by the royalty and courts of Europe, but they were also used to celebrate and commemorate important, though less prestigious, events of the wealthy and middle class. Bouquet holders reached the peak of their popularity between the 1830s and 1880s, but it began to dwindle as bouquets of long-stemmed flowers (the latest horticultural development) loosely tied with ribbons surpassed the posy bouquet style. They were not totally out of fashion until the “Roaring Twenties,” when such objects became regarded as trivial and useless. The diversity of styles and mechanisms of bouquet holders is evidence of their longevity as a fashion accessory.

label: Origin

content: Italy, possibly

content: bouquet holders

content: bouquetiers

content: filigree

content: porte-bouquets

content: porte-fleurs

content: Posy holders

content: silver

content: tussie-mussies

content: costume accessories

content: decorative arts

content: fashion

content: Victoriana

content: Horticultural Artifacts Collection

label: Exhibition

content: Floral Fashions: From Bouquets to Buttonholes

label: On View

content: Smithsonian Institution, Quadrangle, S. Dillon Ripley Center

label: Credit Line

content: Smithsonian Gardens, Horticultural Artifacts Collection. Gift of Frances Jones Poetker.

label: Data Source

content: Smithsonian Gardens

content: Bouquet holders

content: Silver

content: 5 × 2 1/2 in. (12.7 × 6.4 cm)

content: Italy

content: <I>Bouquet holder, filigree</I>

title_sort: <I>BOUQUET HOLDER, FILIGREE</I>

title: <I>Bouquet holder, filigree</I>


content: Victorian (1837-1901)

label: Description

content: Silver bouquet holder with octagonal handle. The delicate vase is formed from an openwork design of ‘C’ scrolls and leaves with applied beadwork. The neck, which connects the vase to the handle, is a hemispherical shape acting as a cap for the top of the bell-shaped vase. Attached to the join below this is a round-link chain that is connected to a simple ring. The ring would allow the bouquet holder to be worn from the finger or on a chatelaine at the waist to free the lady's hands while dancing. The handle is hexagonal with panels stamped with a column of foliate motifs facing in alternating directions. A large-ball finial completes the design.

content: Birmingham, England, possibly

content: bouquet holders

content: bouquetiers

content: porte-bouquets

content: porte-fleurs

content: Posy holders

content: silver

content: tussie-mussies

content: costume accessories

content: decorative arts

content: fashion

content: Victoriana

content: Horticultural Artifacts Collection

content: Smithsonian Gardens

label: Accession number

label: Type

content: Bouquet holders

label: Restrictions & Rights

label: Medium

content: Silver

content: 6 1/2 × 1 3/4 in. (16.5 × 4.4 cm)

label: Style

content: Rococo Revival

content: Birmingham

content: England

content: <I>Bouquet holder, beadwork, octagon handle</I>

title_sort: <I>BOUQUET HOLDER, BEADWORK, OCTAGON HANDLE</I>