<I>Bouquet holder, enameled flower handle</I>

ca.1830-1920

Gilded brass bouquet holder with enamel handle. The large vase is composed of six undulating ribbons of gilded brass with stamped surface decoration and are partially enameled in green and white. At the top, each ribbon wraps around decorative elements in an “X” shaped knot. Between the ribbons, connecting to the midpoint of the vase are spiral columns. Above the columns, between two knots are 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 vase connects to the handle with a wide band stamped with a floral bird motif. A fragment of a decoratively stamped flat-figure-8 ladder chain also attaches to the neck band that would have been connected to the floral pin. The handle is composed of enamel on copper sheet with decorative gold and silver paillons. The handle features an elaborate floral spray with pink, purple, and blue flowers with green leaves on in a white panel in the dark blue background. This design recalls eighteenth-century French porcelain patterns and is representative of the interest in historicism which characterizes much of the nineteenth-century taste. The handle is capped with a gilded brass finial with a ring attached to the bottom which would have connected a second length of chain 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.