Wire frame, stopped clock

Object Details

Date

ca. 1879-1962

Period

Victorian (1837-1901)

Description

The stopped clock flower frame was one of the symbols of mortality, collectively referred to as memento mori (meaning remember you will die), that were used to remind of the brevity of life on earth and encourage living a good life. Instead of a direct, explicit reference to death, such as the skull or skeleton, the clock was used to evoke the mortal condition of mankind and time running out. The stopped clock flower frame was most suitable for men in the prime life. This design was also based on the ritual of stopping the clocks when a person dies. The clock would then be restarted after the burial. This custom continued well into the twentieth century and is still practiced by some today. The time on the clock flower frame was significant of the time of death. In these floral designs, a white face indicated that the time of death was before noon, and a purple face meant it had occurred after noon.

Label Text

Set pieces or set designs were among the most popular floral arrangements in the second half of the nineteenth century. The term set piece is a usually applied to designs in a wide variety of forms, which are often symbolic in character. Shapes that expressed an overall theme for an occasion were very fashionable, such as designs made to depict the profession, associations, or hobbies of an individual. These flower arrangements were ordered for special celebrations, holidays, weddings, and funerals. Typical of the Victorian style, these designs were elaborate and massive, but unlike other forms of flower arrangement, the set piece was exclusively made by the professional florist.

Set pieces were usually made up on wire frames in the desired shape, which acted as a foundation for the floral arrangement. Commercially produced, heavy-gaged wire frames, fabricated from either plain or copper-plated wire, became available for flower arrangements between 1860 and 1864. The retail florist business was enhanced considerably by the high demand for arrangements on flower frames in the nineteenth century, and wire frames quickly became the basis of the retail florist’s inventory. The frames could be obtained for little cost to the florist, and if he managed to retrieve the skeleton after the occasion, it could be reused. Wire frames came in both straight and curved outlines and either as a box (three-dimensional frame) or flat frame. Most designs came in several sizes and could be hung or placed on a stand or were free-standing. Standard forms in wire works catalogues ranged in size from 10 to 60 inches. Outside of the standard frame designs offered in wireworks and florist’s supplies catalogues, designs could be made for almost any occasion, with some large enough to make life-sized reproductions.

Over the course of the nineteenth and twentieth century floral fashions changed. Some set pieces faded in popularity by the early 1900s, but some remained favorites well into the 1940’s. Many of these same designs are still used today, but the wire frames have been replaced by shapes made from more modern materials to save the florists’ time in making up the arrangement, as well as providing water to the flowers allowing for greater longevity.

Topic

emblems (symbols)

Floral frames

frame components

wire

ceremonies

clocks

decorations

Floral Accessories

Floral decorations

floral designers

Flower arrangement

funerals

funerary objects

secret societies

societies

symbols

wirework

See more items in

Horticultural Artifacts Collection

Credit Line

Smithsonian Gardens, Horticultural Artifacts Collection. Gift of H. Weber & Sons Company.

Data Source

Smithsonian Gardens

Accession number

1979.011.006

Type

Floral frames

Restrictions & Rights

CC0

Medium

Wire

Dimensions

29 × 14 × 6 in. (73.7 × 35.6 × 15.2 cm)

Metadata Usage

CC0

GUID

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/aq4ca483ffc-abb0-4b6c-8ffd-25e349032815

Record ID

hac_1979.011.006