Ivory – Art of Mourning

Overview of Mourning Miniture Portraits

Personal identity and representing the family in jewellery and objects is as much a nationalistic symbol, as it is one of self pride. The rise in popularity of the miniature portrait has a direct line to royal patronage and suits the changing value of the upper class. With the Renaissance offering a new way of… Continue reading Overview of Mourning Miniture Portraits

Mourning Jewels: How They Were Worn, Part 2

c.1861 Photograph of Princess Alice, standing while resting her left elbow on some books piled on a console table with a mirror reflecting the left side of her head and her left hand. Princess Alice became engaged to Prince Louis of Hesse on 30 November 1860; their marriage took place in July 1862, having been postponed because of the death of the Prince Consort in December 1861. The Princess is wearing mourning in this photograph for her grandmother, the Duchess of Kent, who had died four months previously. Provenance Acquired by Queen Victoria

The wearing of 18th century mourning jewellery set the template for numerous revivals through to the 20th century. The 19th century was the catalyst to popularise the mourning industry so much so that it created its own industry and became a part of popular fashion. Much of our modern understanding of Western religious and social ceremony comes from these periods, expanding… Continue reading Mourning Jewels: How They Were Worn, Part 2

The Chatelaine, Function and Sentimentality

Tokens of affection aren’t simply baubles that are transient, they are often useful accessories that hold a memory within their daily function. By the 18th century, there was enough development of production and industry to facilitate a working class and their objects of daily use. In this cut-steel and sepia chatelaine, the elements of love and… Continue reading The Chatelaine, Function and Sentimentality

Death at Sea: Mourning Jewellery and Nationalism

Mourning ring; gold; marquise bezel studded round border with garnets in settings over bands of blue and white enamel; contains figure of Britannia(?) sitting on stern of vessel on which is a name, and wreathing the picture of an admiral; lion at her feet with paw on dead dove. No maker's mark.

Being lost at sea strikes an image of loss and departure that evokes the very essence of sadness. In the very literal sense, there is the loss of the body that prevents the kind of closure that physical remains offer. Yet, in terms of symbolism, the loss of the soul is the same as that of the body,… Continue reading Death at Sea: Mourning Jewellery and Nationalism