Queen Mary II Memento Mori Ribbon Slide
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The above example, courtesy of Barbara Robbins, is a superb example of a mourning slide for Queen Mary II. Further detail of the piece (or one of a similar nature) can be found in Diana Scarisbrick’s book, Ancestral Jewels.
The cipher sits on top of tightly woven hair. Beneath that is the skull and crossbones. All around the slide, written in gold, are the words : “Momento Maria Regina obit 28th Decembris 94.”
Royal pieces, such as the slide above, are of a quality not normally available to the public. The hierarchy of mourning and its regard as a status symbol during the later 17th Century would carry through well into the 20th Century (even as the custom declined).
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