Victorian Mourning Jewelry
Mourning jewelry is intended to remember and pay respect to a deceased loved one or even a major public figure. Several different types of jewelry were created for this purpose and these included the mourning ring, lockets, earrings, brooches and hair jewelry. In Victorian times, the mourning jewelry would often contain hair from the deceased and this was usually contained inside a locket. Human hair was even fashioned into jewelry such as earrings of woven balls of hair or brooches which included woven hair in the design. This use of hair was very popular from the 1840s to the 1850s and the durability of the hair means that some of this jewelry can still exist today in excellent condition. Some of the cheaper types of this jewelry contain horsehair which was used by unscrupulous jewelers in place of human hair. Any examples of mourning jewelry which contain hair of a famous figure such as members of the monarchy or famous figures from wars such as Napoleon or Wellington, are very popular among collectors these days and can fetch a very high price.
 |
 Death Becomes Her~ Gothic Victorian Mourning Vampire Choker Costume Necklace  US $19.99
|
 Black Satin Silk Ruched Elegant Gothic Victorian Mourning Lolita Gloves S/M US $12.00
|
 Sweet Little Antique Victorian Mourning Pin-Glass-With GoldTone Detail-A Charmer US $4.29
|
 Stunning Antique Victorian French Jet Mourning Brooch ~Crescent Moon US $43.85
|
The most well-known material which is associated with mourning jewelry is jet. This is a black mineraloid (a material similar to a mineral but which has organic origins) formed from the high pressure decomposition of wood millions of years ago. The Victorians used the jet which comes from Whitby in North Yorkshire. Jet became an extremely popular material for mourning jewelry when it was worn by Queen Victoria after the death of Prince Albert. There are other materials which have a similar appearance to jet, however true jet will leave a chocolate brown mark when rubbed against unglazed porcelain. The jet was carved into brooches, crosses, bracelets and necklaces and many of these items were sold in Victorian times.
After the death of Queen Victorian, the long tradition of wearing mourning jewelry suddenly died out as people looked to live in a happier and less sombre way.
Tagged with: mourning jewelry • victorian jewelry
Filed under: Victorian
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
