Bead Wreaths @museum.de

F: Even contemporaries found it hard to agree:
M: Is that pretty, or just pretty ugly?

F: The director of Württemberg's Landesgewerbemuseum – the State Museum of Industrial Arts – even called them "abominations of the most hackneyed kind". Yet at times, bead wreaths were the most popular of any grave ornament – for rich and poor alike.

M: The wreaths came into fashion from around 1870 onwards. First in France, then in Germany – and here, especially in Roman Catholic regions such as southern Germany.

F: The small coloured glass beads generally came from Bohemia or Moravia. They were first threaded by hand onto thin wires and then artistically shaped into flowers and leaves. The work was mainly carried out by women and children in the home. The wreaths usually featured an oval centrepiece with the image of a saint or angel. Or as in this case, Jesus Christ on the cross.

M: Take a look at the display case to see two types of bead wreaths. One with dark beads, which would have been placed on the grave of an adult. And a wreath with white and pale blue beads. Wreaths like this one would have decorated children's graves.

F: The use of bead wreaths varied, depending on the region. In some areas, they served as permanent grave ornaments. In others, the wreaths were only brought out for particular holy days, such as All Saints' Day.

M: In the 1930s, the fashion for bead wreaths was brought to an end. In many cemeteries, grave ornaments had proliferated, so they were banned without further ado. Besides, the wreaths were increasingly regarded as tacky. Nevertheless, the bead wreaths left their mark: essentially, they were the forerunners of our funeral wreaths today.