Brooch
ca. 1842 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Death was highly visible in Victorian culture. It was a time for communal feeling, studied response and ritual, with people encouraged to give public expression to their grief. Throughout the Victorian period there were 'hair artists' who specialised in turning locks of hair into jewellery that could be worn as a very physical memorial to someone who had died. Printed catalogues presented customers with a choice of designs and offered discreet guarantees that the locks of hair were not muddled or substituted in the process. The back of this brooch is engraved with the dates of a sixteen-year-old who died in 1842.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 4 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | Hair, gold wire, engraved |
| Brief description | Bow-shaped hair-work brooch, with card box, made by A. Forrer, London, ca. 1842 |
| Physical description | Hair-work brooch made of brown human hair. Shaped in a bow. The centre is bound round with gold wire and the ends are trimmed with gold tassels. There is a gold pin engraved with the birth and death dates of a 16-year-old. With a black card box with an engraved label. |
| Credit line | Given by Miss M. B. Sparks |
| Summary | Death was highly visible in Victorian culture. It was a time for communal feeling, studied response and ritual, with people encouraged to give public expression to their grief. Throughout the Victorian period there were 'hair artists' who specialised in turning locks of hair into jewellery that could be worn as a very physical memorial to someone who had died. Printed catalogues presented customers with a choice of designs and offered discreet guarantees that the locks of hair were not muddled or substituted in the process. The back of this brooch is engraved with the dates of a sixteen-year-old who died in 1842. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.342&A-1965 |
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| Record created | December 20, 2006 |
| Record URL |
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