<I>Wire frame, lyre, small</I>

ca. 1879-1962

The lyre was a popular design for funeral flower tributes in the nineteenth century. It could be free standing, hung, or placed on a pillow or within a wreath or crescent. The lyre was appropriate for both men and women, the young and the old. The Greek lyre was a symbol of music in classical times and one of Apollo’s attributes. Representing harmony between heaven and earth, the lyre was a symbol, as well as an instrument, of both peace and musical talent. The lyre often will have a broken string to symbolize the life that has been cut short. The strings could be made from a variety of materials including flowers, wire, and fabric strips such as chenille. 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. Shapes alluded to lives cut short and the loss of cherished relationships.