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Black Oval Classical Portrait Mourning Locket with Hairwork
Black Oval Classical Portrait Mourning Locket with Hairwork
Black Oval Classical Portrait Mourning Locket with Hairwork
Black Oval Classical Portrait Mourning Locket with Hairwork

Black Oval Classical Portrait Mourning Locket with Hairwork

Date1860 - 1899
Object NameLocket
MediumEbonite, hair, glass and metal
ClassificationsJewellery
DimensionsLength: 6.4cm
Width: 4.7cm
Depth: 2.3cm
Width Open: 8cm
LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub
Object numberABDMS082653
About MeLarge black Ebonite, oval cushion-form hinged mourning locket featuring a metal loop at the top so it could be worn as a pendant.

The front of the locket features a deep relief classical portrait of a woman, which is attached.

Inside the locket there are two reserves, both covered with glass and surrounded by a carved fleur de lis style border. The right-hand reserve contains within it brown human hair, which has been woven in diagonal criss-cross pattern.

Mourning was big business during the Victorian period and all levels of society and incomes were catered for. Ebonite, which was invented by Charles Goodyear, is a form of vulcanised rubber, which is very hard. It was a popular, cheap alternative to jet or bog oak.

The notion of keeping a physical memento of a person, dead or alive, is thousands of years old. Using a lock of hair in a remembrance piece has been popular for many centuries. However, pieces of jewellery containing intricate patterns made from hair began to appear during the 17th century.

The craft of hairwork jewellery really took off in the 19th century as the fashion for sentimental jewellery grew.

Hairwork was more commonly worn as a love gesture but could also be worn for mourning if the hair used was that of the deceased or if it was set into black jewellery, as in this brooch.