20th Century Mourning Rings
Share this article with...
This is one of the last pieces in the traditional mourning style for its time. The bold ‘in memory of’ is still retained in black enamel around the outside and the dedication is within. Look back to earlier bands of the mid 18th Century and 19th Century to see the evolution of this style.
Mourning rings did not end at this time, however. For the individual, they have moved on from this style, but whenever a significant event happens, mourning rings are produced. Look to rings made for J.F.Kennedy in 1963, or the pieces made for the firemen killed in the September 11 , 2001 attacks in New York.
Black and white Bakelite rings in the 1940s with photographs in the place of a hair memento were popular for a short while, but not popular enough to continue.
Fundamentally, mourning rings are not as formal in a modern society as they have been in the past. A mourning ring can merely be a keepsake from a lover or someone close who has passed on. The symbolism and structure is an anachronism in today’s culture, but that does not mean it is gone. Groups still practice hairworking and some jewellers still place hairwork inside rings for people. As long as there is death and sentimentality, memorial jewellery will always have a place in culture, as it did in pre-history and has continued to this very day.
Country: Australia
Year: 1911, 11/11/11
Dedication: Marion Julia Little
Share this article with...
