Tag: miniature

French Neoclassical Male Mourning Ring

Mourning jewellery design is separated by religious piety and values. Since the Protestant Reformation in 1517, the split between the Catholic and Protestant interpretations of death were distinguished by the values of ‘memento mori’ (‘remember you will die’). Showing the desecration of the body and the constant design reminder in jewellery and art that death… Continue reading French Neoclassical Male Mourning Ring

Neoclassical Mourning Locket & Royalty, 1821

Locket with miniature of Caroline Polyxene, Landgravine of Hesse-Cassel-Rumpenheim (1762-1821) c.1821

Having privilege in wealth is not required for mourning jewels, but it certainly helps. The range of quality in bespoke jewels is only limited by resource accessibility and wealth. For royalty, the quality tends to be of the highest level and these are the best jewels to identify for their specific time and age. This… Continue reading Neoclassical Mourning Locket & Royalty, 1821

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

A Mourning Tour: An Edwardian Miniature c.1910

Edwardian mourning miniature portrait, with the child looking upwards in the clouds. Reverse is diamond and blue enamel.

The Edwardian Era, 1901 to 1910, was one of the primary catalysts to end the mourning industry. When I reference the industry of mourning, this does not mean that there was a time when mourning had ended as a concept, but the industry of standardised fashion to facilitate and generate money from grief. Queen Victoria… Continue reading A Mourning Tour: An Edwardian Miniature c.1910