Queen Victoria and Albert set the standard for British society. Their family values, behaviours, gifts and promotion of 19th century industry all manifest in the sentimental and mourning jewels of the time. No other period during Victoria’s reign is as interesting to how mourning jewels were designed than the 1850s. In this brooch, the classical… Continue reading Victorian Sentimentality in a Mourning Brooch
Tag: Bracelet
Family Bracelet: The Importance of the 1840s and 1850s Part 2
In the first part of this series on a remarkable bracelet, we discovered just how important the 1840s and 1850s were to modern culture. The weddings, funerals and jobs we go to were defined by the social establishments of those times. As the impact of 1840s and 1850s culture led to nationalism and globalisation, the… Continue reading Family Bracelet: The Importance of the 1840s and 1850s Part 2
Family Bracelet: The Importance of the 1840s and 1850s Part 1
In terms of human identity and the roots of western modern culture, the 1850 period was the most important decade to establish social behaviour. From technology and its showcasing in the Great Exhibition of 1851, to the parameters of social behaviour for families and how that was popularised by the British Monarchy and seeded through… Continue reading Family Bracelet: The Importance of the 1840s and 1850s Part 1
A Mourning Tour: Silhouettes & Shades From Miers & Field
Capturing the image of a loved one affordably and quickly is a relatively modern invention. Having the technology to produce a photograph dates from the 1840s, with any previous image being at the cost and skill of an artist. Projecting a profile of a shadow from a candle onto paper, then reducing it with a… Continue reading A Mourning Tour: Silhouettes & Shades From Miers & Field