Jewellery sold in stores was sourced from a variety of gold and silversmiths, but it was another kind of craftsperson who was integral to the mourning jewellery industry: hair weavers. Hair weaving was highly competitive during the 19th century and the weavers relied on their own skill level to order to promote their businesses. The… Continue reading Human Hair and Business in the 19th Century
Tag: Mourning Brooch
Victorian Sentimentality in a Mourning Brooch
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
Foiled by Paste in a 19th Century Brooch
This wonderful brooch consists of yellow gold with foiled amethysts/pastes. There are elements to the brooch which show many influences of the Gothic Revival period in the first half of the 19th century, mainly in the floral embellishments to the gold surround of the hairwork. Inside is a dual-woven hair memento and to the reverse,… Continue reading Foiled by Paste in a 19th Century Brooch
Paste, Pearls and Change in a Brooch
A marriage between two jewels can be just as sentimental as a marriage within a relationship. Additions to jewels show longevity and continuity of a jewel; resonating a new meaning of love for another from generation to generation. Many of the 19th century jewels that denote love were often adapted for mourning, this followed the… Continue reading Paste, Pearls and Change in a Brooch