Globe de Mariée

image: Museo Narlaten

I found my first fascination with the Globe de Mariée (marriage globes) last year, while on an antique jaunt with my dear friend Dona. We stopped in a local Antique store, and there they were, lined up on an old French sideboard: Three Marrige Globes. These little metal and fabric sculptures, are like little jeweled stories to me, encased in a fabulous glass dome.

image: Boccacino/flickr

Well, they looked lovely and intriguing right away, but it wasn't until the shop owner told me that each item inside is actually symbolic of a certain virtue, that I really became fascinated. I am a fan of anything that has hidden meanings (yes, I watch all the History Channel documentaries about the Freemasons with eyes wide open).

The tradition of Marriage Globes began in France, in the 19th Century. It was a display for married couples, to preserve their wedding souvenirs and tell the story of their wedding. It was usually placed prominently in the formal dining room, on the buffet. They typically held the bride's crown, as well as her bouquet (made from fresh orange blossoms or wax blossoms).  Included were items that they went together to pick, such as mirrors, porcelain pieces, and brass-stamped cut-outs. These items were important, as the couple picked out articles based on the symbols that they represented, and these symbols told the story of the couple. Over time new ornaments were added, including jewelry, special photographs, and their baby's hair clippings.

Well, these globes are not cheap, and I have wanted one ever since I saw them that day in that little shop. I finally found one, that I could some-what afford. It was the first one I saw that was very reasonable in price, and it had the original glass globe with it.  So I used some of my savings, and purchased it. It was dirty, so right when I got home I carefully put the dome in the sink to soak it and clean it. Right away, it shattered. The entire glass just disintegrated. I almost cried. Seriously. So now, I have a globe that is half it's value, but I still love it.

My particular globe, above and below, has the wax orange blossoms from the wedding, which represented virginity/virtue.

The oval mirrors were good luck gifts given by bridesmaids (oval mirrors also signified a virtuous woman) and the central mirror represented the reflection of the soul, and truth. The birds were a symbol of love, the grape leaves were a symbol of hope for an abundant life.  The oak leaves represented hope for a long life, and strength to the couple. So my globe tells me a story about these two people and their life together: their hopes, their character, their morals.... How cool is that? I did see some in that little antique shop where the woman, based on the symbols picked, was maybe not too virtuous. Ha!

Other symbols that the couple could pick included:

The rose for eternal love

The daisy of innocence or purity

Ears of wheat for fertility

Four-leaf clovers for good luck 

Fig leaf for prosperity

Oak leaves for long life

Lime leaves for fidelity

Ivy leaves for commitment

A dove for peace in the home

A trapezoidal mirror symbolized the perfect agreement

The number of small diamond-shaped mirrors represented the number of children the couple wanted

The number of rectangular mirrors represented the amount of years from the couple meeting until marriage (so according to mine, as shown on the photo to the left, my couple only knew each other one year before they were married.)

MORE MARRIAGE GLOBES: 

image: Boccacino/flickr

image: Wikipédia

image: six-fournais

 I love how the bride's gloves are laying inside. 

So if you were to have one of your own, what would yours say about you? Mine would have a stephanotis flower from my husband's boutonnière, and a monkey tail from my bridesmaid's bouquet. (A monkey tail flower, shown right,  is so neat, as it actually moves. It is curled in a coil, and over time it straightens up and curls back the opposite way. So we got to watch her bouquet move all night. I didn't have a traditional bouquet. Since we just wanted one person each in our wedding party, I didn't have any bridesmaids. But I have a lot of very close friends, and I wanted to include them - all 15 of them - without being obnoxious! So what we did is have my friends standing at the end of the pews, near the aisle, and as my dad walked me down, they each handed me a rose. When I got to the end where my husband was waiting, my mother took my bunch of roses and tied a silk ribbon around it. That was my bouquet. Unusual, but I loved it. I got to look each one of my friends in the eye and had 2 seconds of a special connection with them.) Back to the Globe....OH, and I would add a brass-stamp of a harpsichord because my one request was to have a baroque quartet play Bach's Concerto for four Harpsichords in A Minor, and I'd have a shatterproof dome!

(monkey tail & rose image from here, and unless otherwise noted, all other images: Cashon & Co.)