Hand painted porcelain brooch with a trio of roses - pink, white and lavender. The brooch is 1 3/4" x 1 1/4" and in very good condition. It is one of the loveliest brooches I have seen!

Hand painted porcelain brooches, buttons and collar stays were popular from about 1880 - 1910. China and porcelain painting was a fashionable hobby among well to do women; instructions and ideas could be found in The Godey's Lady's Book and other magazines of the time. Women could purchase the porcelain blanks, paint at home or with friends and return to have their creation fired and set in a purchased setting. Most brass settings were brass with a pinback.

The "language of flowers" was also popular in this era, so many of the brooches may have had meaning to to maker and the recipient.

I chose to think of these roses representing three close friends or perhaps three generations of wonderful women.