Mourning

Victorian Mourning Pendant

Hair Jewelry – jewelry that contained locks of a loved one’s hair – was particularly popular during the Victorian era. The Victorians believed that hair had a sacred quality because it contained something of the essence of the person. And because it was somewhat imperishable, it also symbolized immortality.

Hair was used to make everything from exquisitely detailed miniature scenes in jewelry, to braided chains to hold watches and pendants, and even large framed pieces of memorial art. By the mid-1800s, England was importing 50 tons of hair a year to supplement that of the deceased due to the popularity of memorial jewelry and art.

Mourning Hair Wreaths

During the Victorian era, the custom of making art from hair became popular as a form of artistic memorial. It was used in jewelry, love tokens and hair wreathes, the latter of which could encompass hair from the members of one’s church, school, and family.

To make a hair wreath, hair was collected from the deceased, formed into a shape (usually a flower), and added to a horseshoe-shaped wreath. The top was not connected and remained open to symbolize the ascent heavenward. Usually, the hair in the center of the wreath belonged to the most recently deceased family member; it would remain until another family member died, then be pushed aside to make room for the hair of the newly deceased.

Mourning Jewelry

Dying is an art, and no one knew how to mourn like the Victorians.