Bracelet
Jewellery
Inventory number
2019.5.20.8.JW.BR.C1860.FRDescription
Women's hinged bangle bracelet in the shape of a stylized branch of mistletoe with 3 berries.Such type of a bracelet could be worn by a cocotte woman, as a sign of her flirty mood. According to an old Christmas custom, a man and a woman who meet under a hanging of mistletoe were obliged to kiss. The custom may be of Scandinavian origin. It was alluded to as common practice in 1808 and described in 1820 by American author Washington Irving in his The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent: " The mistletoe is still hung up in farm-houses and kitchens at Christmas, and the young men have the privilege of kissing the girls under it, plucking each time a berry from the bush. When the berries are all plucked the privilege ceases ".
In Germany, the Christmas tradition is that people who kiss under mistletoe will have an enduring love or are bound to marry one another.
Materials
BrassPearl beads
Origin
circa 1860 FranceDimensions
Width : 6.5 cmLength : 7 cm
Height : 3.5 cm