page_title: Victorian jewellery
section_title: Mourning jewellery
hierarchical_section_title: Victorian jewellery / Mourning jewellery
caption_attribution_description: The scene of the brooch is made from human hair. It shows a graveyard scene with a weeping willow tree overhanging a gravestone inscribed: &amp;#145;IN MEMORY OF A.G.&amp;#146; Jewellery such as this is called memento mori, a reminder of death. This is because the hair is probably from a departed loved one. Such &amp;#145;hairwork&amp;#146; was a popular craft and pastime in 18th and 19th century Europe. Women in Victorian Britain were permitted to wear hairwork jewellery in the &amp;#145;second stage&amp;#146; of mourning. This began a year and a day after the loved one&amp;#146;s death. maker: Unknown maker Place made: Europe Medical Photographic Library Keywords: human hair; memento mori; brooch
context_page_description: Victorian jewellery originated in England. Victorian jewellery was produced during the reign of Queen Victoria, whose reign lasted from 1837 to 1901. Queen Victoria was an influential figure who established the different trends in Victorian jewellery. The amount of jewellery acquired throughout the Victorian era established a person’s identity and status. Within the Victorian period, jewellery consisted of a diverse variety of styles and fashions. These periods can be categorised into three distinct timeframes: The Romantic period, the Grand period and the Aesthetic period.
context_section_description: The process of mourning was a long-lasting and was performed by both men and women. During the process of grieving, mourning jewellery was predominantly worn by females. The idea of women wearing jewellery during their mourning period pertains to the idea of womanhood and how women must keep their status alive to represent their husband, even whilst in deep mourning. Following the death of Queen Victoria’s husband Prince Albert, Queen Victoria entered a mourning period. This mourning period spanned more than 40 years until the death of the Queen. Many grievers participated during the mourning of Prince Albert. Queen Victoria enforced a mourning period upon the court.  Throughout this mourning period Jet jewels were the only acceptable jewellery that could be worn. The practice of wearing black mourning jewellery continued even after the mourning period of Prince Albert given the high infant mortality rate existing in England at the time.
  After the death of a beloved, a ritual of mourning applied for grievers. The ritual commenced from the day of the person’s death until at least one year after the death of the person. During this time grievers were not permitted to wear shiny or reflective materials and must be entirely dressed in black, this was inclusive of clothes and jewellery. In contrast, the second year of mourning permitted grievers to wear more subdued colours such as white or colourless materials, pearls and diamonds. Wearing mourning jewellery displayed the strong connection between a beloved and the deceased person. For this reason, the Victorian mourning period saw the development of personalised jewellery that were used as momentos. Mourning jewellery often displayed initials or the names of the deceased and their date of death which were engraved into the jewellery in remembrance of the departed. The symbol of eyes had a powerful significance in mourning jewellery. A single eye was often included in jewellery such as brooches. An eye signified a spiritual presence of the departed with the person who wore the jewellery, in this way the departed could watch over the person who was wearing the jewellery. Another element often incorporated into jewellery were pearls which represented tear drops. The fashion of mourning jewellery gradually declined in 1901 following the death of Queen Victoria.      
  Throughout the mourning period, there were two main materials that became frequently sourced in jewellery. In order to keep up with the demand for these materials sourced in mourning jewellery, imitations of these materials were discovered. Some of these imitations include hardened rubber also known as “french jet”, black enamel and black glass. The two main materials used to create mourning jewellery consisted of jet and black onyx jewels.
caption: Victorian mourning brooch
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