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Unknown Maker, American

Mourning Brooch

Description

Maker

Unknown Maker, American

Culture

American

Title

Mourning Brooch

Year

mid 1800s

Medium

  • Hair and gold

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • Hair and gold

Materials

hair, gold

Dimensions

Length: 3.8 cm (1 1/2 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Mrs. Hannibal Hamlin

Object Number

62.086.4

Type

  • Jewelry

Projects & Publications

Articles

Jewelry from the Decorative Arts and Design Collection

The American and European jewelry collection at the RISD Museum, part of the Decorative Arts and Design Department, is made up of more than 800 works, including necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and rings from the medieval period to present day.

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Making It In America
Oct 11, 2013 – Feb 09, 2014

Label copy

A lock of hair was often cherished as a tangible remembrance of a deceased loved one. The practice of incorporating hair into jewelry began in Europe as early as the 16th century, and by the 19th century became an art of its own, with instructional manuals detailing the latest patterns and techniques.

This brooch was braided using a method that employed weighted bobbins to produce hollow tubes or solid lengths of woven hair. These were then formed into necklaces, watch fobs, and other forms of jewelry.

Use & Feedback

Image use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use.

This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Unknown Maker, American
Mourning Brooch, mid 1800s
Hair and gold
Length: 3.8 cm (1 1/2 inches)
Gift of Mrs. Hannibal Hamlin 62.086.4

To request new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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