A FRENCH GILT-METAL MOUNTED ‘GLOBE DE MARIEE’ OR MARRIAGE GLOBE
Second half 19th Century
With pressed gilt-metal foliage, birds, wax floral sprigs and mounted with mirrors about a central red velvet cushion, 46cm high
Bidding ended. Lot is unsold.
This ‘globe du mariage’ or ‘globe de mariee’ was a French tradition, established in the early 19th Century, to record the marriage day of newly weds and their life together. Each mirror, pressed metal cut out and floral arrangement is symbolic. It would have also held the bride’s crown or simply a wax bouquet. Typically the globe was presented under a glass dome and positioned in a prominent place within the household.