The History of Pressed Flowers
The history of pressed flowers can be originally traced to ancient Egypt; for example, pressed laurels and garlands were found in the 3,000-year-old coffin of Tutankhamun's mother. It was given the formal name of Oshibana (the art of pressing flowers to create a whole picture) by the Japanese in the 1500s, who made meticulous and skilful examples. The art was supposedly taught to Samurai warriors in order to instil in them the importance of patience, concentration and living in harmony with nature.
Victorian Popularity and Decorative Use
As trade with Japan increased in the 1800s this art form spread. It was naturally popular with the Victorians as they loved flowers, often incorporating them into the wonderful antique oil paintings and antique embroidery that they are now so admired for. Pressing flowers became an enjoyable pastime for Victorian women and was used in many decorative antiques and pretty pictures which were created using pressed flowers, ribbons and embroidery.
However the enquiring mind of the Victorian also used pressed flowers for botanical science, and they became an important source of reference in this field. Meticulous botanical scrapbooks were kept by both men and women, recording in detail unusual species from their travels abroad and some of these are now important historical records of flora from that time.
Botanical Herbariums in Interiors Today
Botanical herbariums are a wonderful way of bringing antiques and interiors together. The individuality, skill and care taken to create each of these pressed, dried, annotated and mounted herbarium makes them unique antique decorative items that will enhance any interior space.
Hung as a collection they bring symmetry to a room, which helps create a sense of scale and proportion. These 19th century antiques will bring flora and nature into your interior space and creating a sense of balance and harmony, they really are very special antique decorative accessories, and are currently available in the Art/Other section of the website, please take a look.