Mourning Jewelry: Cameo Pendant
Faculty Response:
Blog: Remembering A Loved One: Mourning Jewelry (October 2024)
Throughout human existence, different cultures have established ways to honor their deceased loved ones. One way is through remembrance or mourning jewelry, which can be traced back to Ancient Rome. Examples of jewelry with incorporated bones and teeth, along with colorful gems and metals, have been found in many Roman archaeological sites. These early jewelry examples may have been made in remembrance of an individual, mark status or rank, or represent a form of protection or luck.

Memorial jewelry became commonly associated with the British Victorian Era (1837-1901), especially after the death of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband, in 1861. Queen Victoria wore black for decades after his death, also setting a trend in black fashion jewelry for mourning. Jewelry included rings, lockets, bracelets, and necklaces, ranging in mediums from jet, a form of fossilized coal, to pearls, ivory, black enamel, glass, or gemstones. Some mourning jewelry is simply black, others have names of loved ones engraved on metal, and others include tokens of the deceased.

Also during the Victorian Era, hair memorial jewelry grew in popularity. Hair was incorporated into jewelry in different ways; added as a symbol of love, friendship, or in memoriam. Hair jewelry was professionally created or crafted by hand. It was created from both human and animal hair. Bracelets or rings were made from braided and woven hair with added metal decorations and closures.  Some necklaces or pendants would include a painted (later photographic) portrait of a loved one, with hair in a glass locket on the back of the pendant.

In the United States, hair jewelry became more common at the beginning of the Civil War. Soldiers would often leave a lock of hair with their family to be kept safe in a locket or brooch, or a soldier’s loved one would send a lock of hair along with them as a reminder of their family on the battlefield. The lockets often included an image of the soldier and would be worn for months during the mourning process for those soldiers who did not return home. Many historians believe that the increasing popularity of “short bob” style haircuts for women, and the gains in women’s rights, slowly made hair jewelry less desirable.

Read the full blog here.
Current Location:
Shelf A8 (CS3) -> Box 447
Location Notes:
IDC; Compressed Shelving Unit 3; Section A; Shelf A8; Box 447

Mourning Jewelry: Cameo Pendant

Artwork
Identifier:
2021.33.1614
Artist:
Artist Unknown
Credit:
Gift of Charles Schoenknecht and Ward Paul
Medium:
Gutta Percha
Date:
circa 1855 – 1860
Dimensions:
Artworks - Height: 2.25" Width: 2.25"
Description:
Pendant depicting a woman. She is in profile and is wearing a headpiece and earrings.
Historical Context:
Memorial jewelry became commonly associated with the British Victorian Era (1837-1901), especially after the death of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband, in 1861. Queen Victoria wore black for decades after his death, also setting a trend in black fashion jewelry for mourning. Jewelry included rings, lockets, bracelets, and necklaces, ranging in mediums from jet, a form of fossilized coal, to pearls, ivory, black enamel, glass, or gemstones. Some mourning jewelry is simply black, others have names of loved ones engraved on metal, and others include tokens of the deceased.

Getty Art and Architecture Thesaurus Terms:
cameos
hairwork
jewelry
mourning
mourning jewelry
pendants