Domestic Handicrafts

Pair of Wax Fruit Arrangements

Late 19th century

United States

Wax, glass, wood

Photograph©Skinner, Boston, MA

In the Victorian era, the home played an important role in the life of the family.  It was perceived as a tranquil haven providing protection against the disorderly, hectic and ruthless external world of trade, commerce and business. In this sanctuary, the matriarch of the household cultivated a refined, sophisticated and genteel environment for the enjoyment and comfort of her family. One means by which she beautified the home was by introducing to the rooms visually pleasing decorative objects fashioned by hand.

In the typical middle-class family of the second half of the nineteenth century, the husband alone earned an income while his wife remained at home, unencumbered by the responsibilities of financially supporting the family. Her duties focused on the management of the household and the raising of the children. A middle-class woman's free time was frequently occupied by various forms of handicraft to decorate the home. The fruits of her labors included a plethora of needlework pictures, Berlin woolwork bell pulls and cushion covers, doilies and antimacassars, arrangements of artificial flowers, trinket boxes, and wreaths fashioned from hair.

Firescreen
Mid-19th century
United States
Wool, cotton

Photograph©Clars Auction Gallery,Oakland, CA

Berlin woolwork was one of the most common types of needlework in the second half of the nineteenth century. Many examples survive, attesting to its popularity among middle-class Victorian women. Berlin woolwork describes a type of needlework consisting of wool yarns worked on a meshed canvas of cotton or linen. From the 1830s onward, thousands of designs for this type of needlework were printed in Berlin and sold in Germany, England, and the United States. Patterns were printed on a grid, which made execution of the needlework very simple.  The grid corresponded to the mesh of the canvas, essentially providing a guide on how to lay out the stitches. Designs typically consist of flowers, animals, birds, and geometric patterns.  

Needlework Picture
c.1855
United States
Wool, linen

Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY

Berlin woolwork was executed in either tent stitch or cross stitch using colorful wool yarns. After the introduction of aniline, or artificial, dyes in the middle of the nineteenth century, vibrant new colors such as purple, violet and magenta appeared in Berlin woolwork. The needlework panels could be framed as pictures, inserted into firescreens, used as covers for chair seats or pillows, fashioned into bell pulls, or made as valances to be hung from mantels or wall shelves. 

Shelf Lambrequins
1850-1900
United States
Wool, cotton, glass beads
Ex collection of the Margaret Woodbury Strong Museum, Rochester, NY

Firescreen Panel
1878
United States
Wool, cotton

Collection of the New Haven Colony Historical Society, New Haven, CT

Wax Fruit Arrangement
United States
c.1860-1880
Beeswax, paraffin, tempera, glass, wood

Collection of the Philadelphia Museum
of Art, Philadelphia, PA

Shell Flower Arrangement

Latter half of 19th century

United States

Shell, glass, wood, gesso

Collection of the Brooklyn Museum,

Brooklyn, NY

Victorians were obsessed with nature, and one means by which they brought nature indoors was by crafting arrangements of artificial flowers. Made from a variety of materials including painted shells, dyed feathers, shaped wax, or wire wrapped with chenille, the flowers were arranged in a vase or a basket and then placed under a glass shade, or dome, that protected against dust. Artificial fruit made from fabric, colored stones, or wax was also arranged in artful compositions placed in baskets or bowls that stood under glass.

Hair Wreath

Mid-19th century

United States

Hair, wire

Collection of the Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY

Hairwork was another type of handicraft practiced by Victorian middle-class women. A form of hairwork popular from about 1850 to 1875 was the hair wreath, made from the hair of various members of the family. The wreath, while serving as a decoration, also symbolized the love that the maker felt toward the cherished members of her family.  Using a number of techniques including weaving and twisting, the hair was fashioned into a wreath of flowers and leaves. These wreaths were usually mounted in shadowbox frames that were hung on the wall.

Hair Wreath

1873-1874

Virden, Illinois

Hair, wire

Collection of the Illinois State Museum, Springfield, IL

Hair Wreath
c.1850-1900
United States
Hair, wire, string, wood

Collection of the Everhart Museum of Natural
History, Science and Art, Scranton, PA