<I>Bouquet holder, enamel on vase and handle</I>

ca.1830-1920

Gilded and enameled sheet-brass bouquet holder with enamel handle. The vase is composed of four repeats of several decorative curvilinear and rectilinear motifs stamped into the sheet brass and is partially enameled in pink and white. The neck, which connects the vase to the handle, is stamped with horizontal rings. A flat figure-8 ladder chain soldered to the head of floral pin is looped through a hole in the band. 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 handle is made of turquoise enamel on copper sheet with silver paillons. This design recalls French porcelain of the eighteenth century and appealed to the nineteenth century tastes, which favored historicism. The handle is capped with a three-tiered, gilded-brass finial. Each section of the finial gets progressively smaller and is stamped with decorative elements. A chain connected to ring attaches to the bottom of the finial. 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.