Thursday, February 9, 2012

Bell Jars and Belle Displays

I'm an absolute sucker for a good bell jar or glass dome display. There is just such a plethora of options for how to fill them, how to use them to the best advantage in your decor.

Display a treasured faerie treasure...a sculpture perhaps? The two below are stunning examples by the incredible artist Nenufar Blanco.



Create a whole miniature world inside a dome. These two examples are from Life in a Bell Jar.


An endless amount of possibilities...




The containers themselves can sometimes be the art:











After all...there's no precedent for bell jars in fairy tales. No, none at all....

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9 comments:

  1. CharlotteFebruary 10, 2012 at 1:20 AM

    What a wonderful post. Bell jars have a special quality that add to the contents. It is like the microcosmic world in a dew drop, magnified for our normally unseeing eye.

    Thank you for finding them all.

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  2. Angharad BarlowFebruary 10, 2012 at 4:08 AM

    Wow, these are amazing.... I love bell jars and have done an experimental one myself but these are very cool, Thanks.I have just discovered your blog via Terri and the Windling Trees post where you featured my niece's lovely bedroom. I shall look forwards to re-visiting.

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  3. GraceFebruary 10, 2012 at 8:40 AM

    Charlotte, that's a gorgeous and very very apt way of putting it! Thank you.

    Angharad, welcome, and please feel free to share your own bell jar with us over at our Facebook group or here! Your niece's bedroom is utterly enchanting. She must be a very special girl. :)

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  4. BryonyFebruary 10, 2012 at 9:05 AM

    I could quite happily have bell jars and domes decorating every surface of my house. I love the look, and how it turns little treasures into focal points and mini-wunderkammers.

    And also, from an entirely practical point of view, so easy to dust! :)

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  5. GraceFebruary 10, 2012 at 11:01 PM

    A very valid point also!! It can help give your home the look of a collection of antiquities without collecting dust ;)

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  6. Mary CayMarch 31, 2012 at 1:05 AM

    Grace, my daughter is planning her wedding -- Beauty and the Beast theme! We want to get about 20 bell jars, and hot-glue a rose hanging w/ nylon from the center, to appear suspended.
    Do you have an idea where we might be able to purchase this quantity, without spending $300?
    We're looking at sizes from 5"x10" to 8"x12".
    We're having trouble finding quantity price breaks when we look for "glass domes"!
    Thank you,
    Mary

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  7. GraceMarch 31, 2012 at 9:28 PM

    Hi Mary,

    As much as I hate to admit it, with bell jars being SO big right now, it's really hard to find extremely good/cheap bargains on them if you are set on the traditional shape. You could always try to make something similar by upending glass vases or candleholders from the dollar store and adding glass knobs to the tops with strong glue.

    But if you want the classic bell jars, you are going to end up paying at least $10-20 per I think. The best price I've found for those is at Hobby Lobby on half off sales.

    Sorry I'm not more help!

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  8. BohemianSeptember 13, 2012 at 7:26 AM

    I adore Cloches... everything looks more Important under Glass!

    Blessings from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian

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  9. UnknownJune 20, 2015 at 6:24 AM

    lovely

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