Alas! She’s Gone, Part 2

Neoclassical mourning jewel showing father and children next to a tomb inscribed 'Alas! She's gone'. In the Heavens is a cherub holding a sign stating 'GLORY'.

In a connection between a parent and child, the basis of the family is measured by their love and their faith. In this Neoclassical jewel, all this is represented, from the very positioning of the family, to the literal depiction of the heavens above. In this second part of the analysis of the jewel, let’s… Continue reading Alas! She’s Gone, Part 2

Alas! She’s Gone, Part 1

Neoclassical mourning jewel showing father and children next to a tomb inscribed 'Alas! She's gone'. In the Heavens is a cherub holding a sign stating 'GLORY'.

Personal elements of mourning are individual and unique. There’s no prescribed way of behaving when one is in grief, but the way it manifests in fashion and art are the unique ways that a person can display their grief. In the post c.1760 period, the Neoclassical movement allowed for a unique outlook on how death… Continue reading Alas! She’s Gone, Part 1

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

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