<I>Bouquet holder, painted vignettes</I>

ca.1830-1920

Bouquet holder with gilded brass vase featuring mirrors and painted vignette with enamel handle. The vase is composed of four faces with stamped eighteenth-century style frames. One contains a mirror, sometimes called a flirting mirror, that allowed the lady to check her face or spy on what was happening behind her. The opposite face feature a hand-painted scene of a two people enjoying a lake with sailboat in it in front of a mountainous backdrop. These faces alternate with ornate panels featuring Rococo Revival designs. The base is encircled by a row of large, stamped pineapples. A stack of ten rings forms the neckband, which connects the vase to the handle. Attached to it is chain made for woven strands ending in 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 straight tapered handle is made of light blue enamel on copper with silver and gold paillons in designs around the stem, which recalls the French porcelain designs produced in the eighteenth century. The handle was originally capped by a gilded brass finial that is no longer present.