A curious collection of shell vases with bells or glass globes is on display in this small room. These compositions were part of the interior decoration of wealthy Catalan houses of the 19th century, arranged in reception rooms or more private rooms, on tables or chests of drawers, they were almost always presented as a couple and often framing a religious image.

On a wooden base, the flower pots could be presented inside a vase or from a log or rockery, often with some decorative element: a ship, a lady or a sailor. Made from shells, sea snails, crabs, crustacean legs and horns, they were attached to a wire lined with cloth, and finally given a layer of colorless varnish that gave them a shiny appearance. Bouquets tended to be slender and showy and created whorls of wild flowers, daisies, dahlias, passion flowers, or imaginary flowers.

These vases have been linked to the work world of bourgeois girls and to the entertainment of some sailors, and are common in various regions of the Mediterranean, especially in Italy. In Catalonia they were abundant on the Girona coast - especially in the Cap de Creus area -; they arrived in Barcelona from the Menorcan port of Maó.

Collections 

Collection of commercial prints

Collection of erotic matchbox cards