NOUVEAU JEWELRY BOXES Portray Spring Floral Fantasies Nouveau jewelry boxes were a popular item upon which was expressed many fanciful flowers which portrayed special symbolic importance during the early 1900's.
king’s court but, on his way, learned that the English were marching against the city. He returned, finding only one old man still resisting the enemy. The knight hurried to his assistance and saw that it was the father of his only love, Clemence. At the moment that a fatal stroke was aimed at the old man, the knight rushed forward and received the mortal wound himself. Dying in the old man’s arms, the knight presented the flowers he had received, begging they should be returned to Clemence. The father relented, and in great sorrow told his daughter of the untimely death of her knight. Clemence, in turn, fell victim to her despair and anguish, and followed her lover to the grave. Since then, the violet has become a symbol of faithfulness and constancy.
“How the universal heart of man blesses flowers! They are wreathed round the cradle, the marriage-altar…. How charmingly a young gentleman can speak to a young lady, and with what eloquent silence in this delightful language. How delicately she can respond, the beautiful little flowers telling her tale in perfumed words….Flowers should deck the brow of the youthful bride, for they are in themselves a lovely type of marriage….” (From Collier’s Cyclopedia, Published 1883, New York.) From this quotation, it is clear that a jewelry box on a lady’s dressing table represented much more than just a repository for jewelry. It was a cherished container of personal treasures and memories, and an aesthetic artwork in itself. Regardless of its content, the Art Nouveau jewelry box was a statement of lovely sentiment and a treasured showpiece that proclaimed beauty about any room.
To find more information about these fanciful and beautiful art pieces, you may read about them in the first book published on the subject, The Jewel Box Book: The Definitive Guide to American Art Metal Jewelry Boxes 1900-1925. Inside the full-color book is a wide selection of information including: styles (Art Nouveau, Victorian, Rococo, Revival); manufacturers; floral and other motifs pictured and explained; metal composition and finishes; trademarks, patents, and copyrights. Hardcover: ISBN 0-9763710-0-6 Paperback: ISBN 0-9763710-1-4 Available at www.jewelboxbook.com and jewelboxbook@sbcglobal.net
