This posy is an unusual example of Victorian handicraft. The flowers are made from curled wire, looped and wound with silk ribbons and coloured silk floss yarn. The stem is a long feather quill wrapped in gold silk thread and wire. It is associated with a 1854 wedding in the donor’s family, but was probably intended as an accessory for an evening dress. Many young middle- and upper-class women in the 19th century were supported by fathers, husbands or male guardians. They were not expected to work for a living, and so had to find pastimes to occupy their spare time. Needlework was considered a particularly desirable skill. Women’s magazines suggested a variety of other handicrafts such as featherwork, wax-flower modelling, and painting china. This posy would have been made at home using readily available materials, and is a rare survival.