Large 19th century antique French bell shaped garden cloche formed as a single piece of clear glass with a solid knob handle, circa 1880s. Hand-blown from thick glass, it was designed to act as a small green house for lettuces and melons in the potager. Glass domes such as this can be transformed into fabulous light fittings when suspended upside down. The French developed the glass cloche, or bell jar as a way to protect an early garden plants from bleak cold and frost. Dimensions: height 12" diameter 17.25"