Antique French Glass Dome

Antique French Handblown Glass Dome on Original Ebonized Base, Napoléon III Style19” H × 9” W
France, circa 1860–1880
Handblown glass and painted wood, tall antique glass dome in the Napoléon III style with its original black wooden base. The handblown glass has a softly rounded top with visible bubbles and gentle waviness, characteristic of 19th century craftsmanship. The ebonized wood base retains its original finish with elegant wear that speaks to its age.

A beautiful way to showcase a small bust, coral, or other cherished object. The combination of handblown glass, dark base, and refined silhouette reflects the French fascination with preservation and display—sentimental and scientific worlds captured beneath glass, a hallmark of the Napoléon III aesthetic.

In 19th-century France, these domes were known as globes de mariée when used to encase wedding souvenirs, or as globes de curiosités when housing taxidermy and natural specimens. They became an emblem of the Victorian era’s fascination with preservation and display—a poetic merging of sentimentality, science, and artistry.