There is one other image of this object. This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions), and as such we offer a high-resolution image of it. See our image rights statement.
See more objects with the color darkgrey black darkolivegreen dimgrey grey or see all the colors for this object.
Object Timeline
|
1986 |
|
|
2007 |
|
|
2015 |
|
|
2025 |
|
Brooch (USA)
This is a Brooch. It is dated ca. 1860–70 and we acquired it in 1986. Its medium is hair, gold. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.
Treasured Tresses: Hair Jewelry Pattern Books
The Cooper-Hewitt Library owns many types of pattern books for architecture, textiles, wall coverings, and ornament for use by designers. Among our more unusual “how to” pattern books and trade catalogs are two recently digitized hair jewelry pattern books: The jewellers' book of patterns in hair work and Charles T. Menge's price list of ornamental hair jewelry and device work.
During the Victorian era, having jewelry made from the hair of deceased loved ones was a way of literally keeping the person with you always, even after death; it is the one of the most enduring and intimate of human relics. It is a woman's crowning glory and a precious keepsake; my mother kept locks of our hair in little boxes in a dresser drawer. Think of all the myths and stories that involve hair- Samson, Rapunzel, Lady Godiva, the short story The Gift of the Magi, by O’Henry -- you can see why owning something made with the hair of a loved one would be so important in remembering and memorializing the dead. Sentimental jewelry is part of the Victorian cult of mourning that was so much a part of everyday life and customs.
Hair was fashioned into a piece that was braided, woven or otherwise worked into a form and a design. Brooches, bracelets, earrings, watch fobs, and rings could be made from hair. Not all hair jewelry was mourning jewelry; these pieces be could be made and given as tokens of affection and sentimental gifts between friends, keepsakes of your children, siblings or parents. Or they could be more intimate, private exchanges between lovers. Nineteenth-century periodicals such as Godey’s Lady’s Book and other types of fancywork instructional manuals told you how to make your own hair jewelry -- a labor of love, for sure.
If this was too much of a challenge, you could have an item custom made for you by a jeweler or specialist in hair jewelry and have it made professionally. You could pick a design from pattern books and catalogues like those mentioned above; all you had to provide was the hair. Companies like Halford & Young and Charles T. Menge’s would make the jewelry, providing the types of findings (component parts such as clasps, ear wires, pins, chains, etc.) that you selected from the catalogue.
This object was
donated by
Miss Elizabeth Haynes.
It is credited Gift of Elizabeth Haynes.
- Knotted Chair Chair
- H x W x D: 70.8 x 53.3 x 63.5 cm (27 7/8 x 21 x 25 in.).
- Gift of Cappellini.
- 2008-23-1
- Brooch (England or United States)
- enameled gold set with pearls, braided hair under glass cover.
- Gift of Georgina and Louisa L. Schuyler.
- 1916-29-47
Its dimensions are
H x W x D: 7.4 x 3.5 x 0.2 cm (2 15/16 x 1 3/8 x 1/16 in.)
Cite this object as
Brooch (USA); hair, gold; H x W x D: 7.4 x 3.5 x 0.2 cm (2 15/16 x 1 3/8 x 1/16 in.); Gift of Elizabeth Haynes; 1986-105-5
