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Unknown Maker, American

Pair of Cuff Links

Maker

Unknown Maker, American

Culture

American

Title

Pair of Cuff Links

Year

early 1800s

Medium

  • hair,
  • gold

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • hair,
  • gold

Materials

hair, gold

Dimensions

1.1 x 1 cm (7/16 x 3/8 inches) (each unit)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Eleanor S. Upton

Object Number

42.259ab

Type

  • Jewelry

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.

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

Related Objects

Unknown Maker, American

Cuff Link

Unknown Maker, American

Cuff Link

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Image use

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

Public Domain 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
Pair of Cuff Links, early 1800s
Hair; gold
1.1 x 1 cm (7/16 x 3/8 inches) (each unit)
Gift of Eleanor S. Upton 42.259ab

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