THE ANTIQUE
Silver Rose Bowls
Out in parks and gardens, roses in wonderful hues are coming into full bloom, and now’s the time to bring them indoors to enjoy. Silver rose bowls were at their zenith in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, often given as gifts and commemorative tokens. Prized blooms had their stems trimmed short so that they nestled against one another, flowerheads sitting just above the edge of the bowl to form a pool of colour. Originally they may have been used with a florist’s metal grid to hold the blooms in place. They came in many different designs – chased and engraved, with handles or without – and held anything from six to 16 flowers, depending on dimensions.