Most vintage silverware features flowers — and it's not a coincidence. During the Victorian Era, flowers carried secret meanings through a language called Floriography. Here's what the floral motifs on your silverware jewelry might actually be saying.
This week while processing some new upcycled silverware jewelry creations, I noticed that most silverware pieces feature flowers as part of their design if not the whole design. For example, the spoon ring above is really all about Lilies as the design is a Lily all the way around. Same with the spoon cuff bracelet featured below showing a full carnation motif. Browse our floral silverware jewelry.
If you look at most of the silverware pieces we use for our upcycled silverware jewelry creations, about 75% feature or include flowers as part of the design. The spoon ring above is really all about Lilies — the design wraps all the way around. Same with the spoon cuff bracelet below, which features a full carnation motif.
During the Victorian Era, giving a bouquet of flowers was more than simply a kind gesture or gift of beauty. These bouquets were often intended to convey a secret feeling or a message to the recipient. This was known as Floriography, or flower language, and is not too different from modern day emojis. Often these bouquets were very cryptic and conveyed a feeling or idea that could not be spoken in the oh-so-proper Victorian times. The beauty of this method of delivering a message is that any meaning could be easily denied, thereby absolving the giver of any inappropriate and or socially unacceptable thoughts or behavior.
While the history of floriography is rich with many characters and continents, it is most often attributed to Lady Mary Wortley Montagu who was married to the English ambassador to Turkey in the 1700s. In one of her letters home she described the Turkish "selam" which was a secret flower language used by harem women to communicate while keeping their thoughts unspoken. Her letters were later published as the "Turkish Embassy Letters" and the secret language of flowers quickly took hold of the imagination and interest of wealthy educated readers of the time.
Eventually dictionaries were written to help decode the meaning of flowers and by the turn of the 20th century, you could find about 98 different dictionaries across the United States alone.
But it wasn't just the types of flowers presented in the bouquet that conveyed meaning. There were other types of messages as well — from the hand which the flowers are presented (given using the right hand indicated "yes"; given using the left hand indicated "no") to the colors of the flowers themselves (red suggests passion, white suggests purity, etc.).
There are many online sources for the meaning of certain flowers. But since we make jewelry out of silverware, we are going to list only those flowers that we see most often on antique silverware.
(Note: While flower colors are not depicted on antique silverware, it is still notable and interesting information and we are including it here.)
CARNATION - Fascination; Divine Love; womanly love; devoted love
DAFFODIL - Regard; Unrequited Love; You're the Only One; The Sun is Always Shining When I'm with You
IRIS - Fleur-de-Lis, Emblem of France; Your Friendship Means So Much to Me; Faith; Hope; Wisdom and Valor; My Compliments
LILY
LILY-OF-THE-VALLEY - Sweetness; Tears of the Virgin Mary; Return to Happiness; Humility; You've Made My Life Complete
MAGNOLIA - Nobility
ORANGE BLOSSOM - Innocence; Eternal Love; Marriage and Fruitfulness
PEONY - Shame; Gay Life; Happy Marriage
ROSE (note there are many more than listed here)
VIOLET - Modesty
Once you have a piece, here's how to care for your silverware jewelry →
The next time you receive flowers — or perhaps an upcycled silverware spoon ring, spoon cuff bracelet, or other upcycled silverware creation with a floral motif — think twice about what the giver may be trying to say overtly or not-so-overtly. Shop our upcycled silverware jewelry and find a piece with a flower that says exactly what you mean.
Want to keep reading?
- Silverplate vs. Sterling Silver — What's the Difference?
- History of Silverplating and Its Role in Democratizing Wealth
- Vintage Silverware Patterns: A Complete Guide to Identification, History & Jewelry Design
- How Spoon Rings Are Made — From Vintage Silverware to Wearable Art
- Spoon Rings and Love Over the Ages — A Unique History
