Crown In Venice Glass Beads - Period: 20th Century

Magnificent crown in glass pearls.
Unique piece, incredibly graphic and decorative, this huge glass bead crown is new. Its metal structure is fully galvanized, from the PERLAFRANCE factory in Montbard.
With graphic and floral motifs, it can be easily fixed wherever you want and can perfectly take the place of a ceiling rose, or even become an incredible light.

Period: XXth
Dimensions: Height: 85cm x Width: 53cm x Depth: 20cm
Original label attesting to its provenance.

Tombs only really appeared in France in the second half of the 19th century. At the same time, a whole funerary art has developed aimed at replacing natural flowers, the use of which was very old, with more durable ornaments. At the same time, France imported pearls from Venice for embroidery, trimmings, accessories but also for making funeral wreaths, hence the generalization of the crown in glass or ceramic beads.

The general shape of the crowns was most often cross-shaped or diamond-shaped. But there were also crowns personalized with objects commemorating an activity popular with the deceased (plane, bicycle, boat, etc.).
The oldest were centered by a glass globe containing flowers or a devotional object. Too fragile, this curved glass quickly disappeared.

Countless factories then sprung up on the national territory, draining a female or sometimes cheap penitentiary workforce who worked on a contract basis for the realization of the flowers. Once assembled in the factory, the beads and crowns were delivered throughout France. No funeral, be it a working class or a privileged class, escaped the accompaniment of the deceased by a flower arrangement in glass beads, either humble or luxurious.

The technique consisted of attaching beaded flowers and leaves to a form of rigid wire. The durable nature of glass, the finesse and variety of decorations as well as the low maintenance required, have given these objects long moments of glory. Nevertheless, the relatively high cost of manufacturing, changes in lifestyle and above all the arrival of plastics have got the better of this craft.
The production of crowns in glass beads thus spread out from 1850 to 1972 when the last workshop closed its doors definitively.

Ref: VDFIOK6E5C