MOURNING RELIQUARY FRAME

Rare oval-shaped reliquary frame, hair work, object of mourning, dated 1875. (Some loosening of hair to note at the bottom of the frame). The frame is black enhanced with a gold thread. The glass protecting the composition is curved.

 

PERIOD:19th century
SIZE:16cm X 14cm
SIZE:6.3"X 5.5"

The use of hair in jewelry and other accessories is ancient. We find them as early as the eighteenth century, but more frequently in the nineteenth. In addition to its remarkable resistance, hair also carries sentimental values. We also speak of"mourning jewelry". It is often a question of using the hair of deceased relatives in order to keep a memory. This tradition will disappear besides with the democratization of the photography allowing it also to preserve a memory of the disappeared person. But not only, we will also make jewelry from hair, medallions that the bride and groom offered each other. However, we find this tradition in the conservation still in force today of a lock of the first cut of a child's hair.