Victorian Tussie Mussie, Posey Holder, Bouquet Holder

Victorian Tussie Mussie. It is metal, stamped, cut and chiseled, the vase with the rare decoration of four mermaids and volutes of flowers. A chain connects the handle to a ring which allowed it to be held on the finger. It is 6,30 inchs long. Circa 1870 / 1880.
Note on the bouquet holder: The use of the bouquet holder appeared at the court of Versailles under the reign of Louis XIV and developed throughout the 18th century. Flowers were then worn on clothes and in hair. In order to keep the freshness and the fragrance of the flowers, the bouquets holders took the form of bottles concealed in the bodices or worn on the clothes. In the 19th century, the practice of carrying flowers led manufacturers to create new types of bouquets holders. The bouquet holder always consists of a vase whose shape varies according to three distinct types: The slats, the cone or the horn. The vase is often extended by a handle on which there is sometimes a chain connected to a ring. The latter is fixed to the finger or to a chatelaine and allows to retain the bouquet holder. A system allows the bouquet to be fixed in the "vase", the simplest being that of the fixed needle bouquet. Sources: Catalog of the exhibition “Porte-bouquets” at the Cognacq-Jay Museum in 2005.