My initial thought would be that hair jewelry could refer to an adornment or decoration placed in a woman's hair.. But oh no! This is not the case.. Victorian hair jewelry can be bracelets, earrings, necklaces and even rings that are composed of intricately woven human hair!
I personally can't imagine there being a time I felt compelled to remove enough hair from my own head to craft a gift of jewelry for a friend, but there were two main reasons this was done during the victorian era. I'll begin with the less disturbing of reasonings, which was with the intent of providing a token of your love for a friend, family member or significant other. Many times these pieces were designed with engravings for a message, or significant date. I consider this reasonable taking in to consideration that the Civil War was taking place at this time and many loved ones were finding themselves seperated from their families. Mother's would wear locks of hair in a necklace of a husband or son at war, while men at war were adorned with the locks of a loved one at home.
As for the second type of victorian hair jewelry, these were quite often referred to as mourning pieces. The hair of a deceased loved one would be obtained and crafted in to a piece of jewelry. These works were designed with intent to be a constant reminder of the loved one who was lost. But also a reminder that death was a common part of life during this time. With loved ones at war and a much higher infant mortality rate, there was no other choice but to accept it as a part of life that occured more frequently than one would choose.
I may not choose to wear one of these items myself, but if at one time they helped bring comfort to those who lost someone they loved, or were missing someone special, than they get my mark of approval!
Here are a few images of hair jewelry I've come across:
No comments:
Post a Comment