Abstract:
This book focuses on small decorative objects for holding flowers, mainly taken by women to the opera, theater, and balls during the nineteenth century and variously known as posy holders, bouquet holders, flower holders, tussie-mussies, and porte-bouquets. Queen Victoria popularized bouquet holders by appearing with one at the theater shortly after her accession to the throne at age 18, and many reflect designs associated with her reign (1838–1901). In England, the earliest holders were probably owned by the wealthy, but in the latter half of the nineteenth century the low cost of silver and silver plating placed this fashion within reach of a burgeoning middle class. In France, early holders were set with precious gems for the nobility, but thereafter most vases were in electrogilded brass often set with faux pearls and gems made of glass. Exotic silver filigree holders were imported from China and India, and filigree production in Birmingham, England, catered to the wealthy in New York, Boston, and Philadelphia. Important catalogs of bouquet holder collections have been published, but bouquet holders are rarely marked, and attributions to place are often without basis. Prompted by a project undertaken by a conservator at the Smithsonian’s Museum Conservation Institute in preparation for digitization of a large collection donated to Smithsonian Gardens by Frances J. Poetker, 239 holders in the catalog have been attributed to places of manufacture, often linked by designs and materials to those in other international collections. Research and detailed study of manufacture have even determined by whom some were made. This evidence-based technical study and reference guide accompanied by high-resolution photographs is intended to fill a significant gap in the available literature and serve as a resource for museums and collectors.
