Pressed Flower Earring History

Pressed flower art, an artistic method of preserving the beauty of flowers, has a unique charm that is worth exploring. The term "pressed flower" is derived from the English words and involves the dehydration, color preservation, pressing, and drying of various plant parts such as roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits, and bark. These processed plants are then skillfully arranged to create delicate and unique decorative paintings, cards, and daily necessities.

pressed flower earring

Pressed flower earring is considered a blend of botany and environmental conservation due to its unique process. Today, let's delve into the world of pressed flower earring and appreciate the harmony of human culture and nature.

Does pressed flower art have a history? Pressed flower art is a popular aesthetic craft that has applications in various fields such as fashion, architecture, design, and lifestyle aesthetics. Examples include pressed flower earring, phone cases, lamps, notebooks, candles, and fans. This trendy craft has a long history, which we will explore below.

The widespread popularity of pressed flower art can be traced back to the age of exploration when it developed as an extension of botanical specimen creation. Pressed flower earring involves using materials from pressed plants and combining them with other materials, such as scented candles, bookmarks, and jewelry. Pressed flower art can be seen as a treatment of botanical specimens, which became increasingly common in Europe. Many botanists, natural historians, and gardeners began creating their botanical specimen books. Over time, people realized that these botanical specimens could be transformed into beautiful, artistic creations, leading to the development of pressed flower art as an independent craft. By the 19th century, pressed flower art had become a refined pastime.

In Britain, pressed flower art became a nationwide sensation, particularly during the Georgian era (1800s-1830s) and the Victorian era (1840s-1900s). This period marked the heyday of pressed flower art, with a plethora of jewelry, decorative paintings, and furniture featuring pressed flowers flooding the market. Special tools were even invented to facilitate the creation of pressed flower art, adding to its intrigue.

Who invented this beautiful art of pressed flowers? To determine the origin of pressed flower art, we must look at the history of botanical specimens. The generally recognized inventor of botanical specimens is Italian doctor and botanist Luca Ghini (1490-1566), who is known for creating the first batch of pressed plant specimens.

pressed flower earring

Luca Ghini, a renowned professor at the University of Pisa, Italy, helped popularize the unique method of creating botanical specimen books in 16th-century Europe. Unfortunately, only a few fragments of Ghini's original botanical specimen books have survived, and they are preserved in a museum in Florence, Italy. Thankfully, other contemporaneous botanical specimen books have survived, such as the Petrus Cadé Herbarium from 1566, which is housed in the Dutch National Herbarium and features pressed plant specimens.

Queens and pressed flower art Queen Victoria of England was a passionate enthusiast of pressed flower art and was skilled in the craft. Her love for pressed flowers was evident when she adorned all invitations to the christening of her children with pressed flowers. When she lost her beloved husband, she personally pressed the flowers that adorned his coffin.

Under Queen Victoria's influence, pressed flower art became a fashionable pastime among the court's noblewomen, often featured in high-society gatherings. During delightful afternoon tea parties and elegant salons, noblewomen would showcase their pressed flower creations, share stories about exotic plants, exchange techniques and ideas, and take pleasure in each other's company. Pressed flower art framed in exquisite mirrors was a staple of interior decoration in luxurious court settings.

In addition to the queen, American poet Emily Dickinson (Emily E. Dickinson, 1830-1886), hailed by people as "the greatest American female poet ahead of her time," was also a lover of pressed flowers. Emily had a penchant for creative themes centered around plants in nature and often made pressed flowers in her beloved garden.

The World of Pressed Flower Art are not only popular in Europe and America, but their "traces" can also be found all over the world.

After World War II, pressed flower art spread to Japan, where the Japanese people began to study the art form. Pressed flowers even developed into a national treasure-level art form, recognized by the government and on par with ikebana (flower arrangement).

In the 1980s, a group of Taiwanese artists studied the methods of making pressed flowers in Japan and returned to Taiwan to develop and promote pressed flower art, as well as begin teaching it. In Taiwan, many floral art schools and classrooms offer pressed flower art courses. Students from various industries, in order to improve their taste, hands-on production abilities, beautify their lives, and cultivate their minds, choose to learn such a visually pleasing skill during their leisure time. As a result, pressed flower art is very popular among women's artistic circles.

In 1987, the Pressed Flower Art Promotion Association was established in Taiwan, and pressed flower art flourished there. Due to Taiwan's heated development of pressed flower art, in the 1990s, mainland China's Guangdong and Yunnan provinces also began to introduce pressed flower techniques and develop pressed flower farms. Today, pressed flower art has become increasingly popular, and its presence can be seen in countries such as China, the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, Denmark, Ukraine, and others.

After more than 400 years of development and accumulation, today's pressed flower art can be said to possess both innovative thinking and profound classical connotations. It is well worth our time to savor and chew on the beauty of pressed flower art, and appreciate its aesthetic appeal.