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Late Georgian Hair Whitby Jet Mourning Brooch

Name: Late Georgian Hair Whitby Jet Mourning Brooch
Brand: victoriansentiments
SKU: 4340248219
Price: 1017.80 DKK
Availability: InStock
Rating: 5.0 (1736 reviews)

Handpicked by Terry & Tom

Owner of victoriansentiments

5.0 (1.7k)

What to know

Materials

Hair, Whitby Jet, rolled gold

Vintage

From the 19th century

Gift wrapping

Available

Early Victorian Hair Garnet Mourning Brooch- Tiny!

Here is a lovely late Georgian mourning brooch or pin with 12 faceted tiny Whitby Jet cabochons surrounding hair receiver that contains woven brown hair, 1/2" in height and nearly 3/4" in length, with period correct tube hinge and c clasp with pin back extending beyond the body of the brooch. Brooch dates from the 1820's - 30's.

Small brooches, often referred to as lace or fichu pins were a must for the fashionable lady of the early 19th century. Dresses of the day had low cut front bodices; consequently it was necessary to drape diaphanous scarves or sections of lace across the shoulders to cover the exposed décolleté. Brooches of this genre were used to pin the scarves together or fasten to the dress. During the 1840's, it was very fashionable to wear these lace pins with neck ribbons, either as shown in the last photo or similarly closed at the front on a black velvet ribbon.

Whitby jet has been used to make jewelry and body adornments for thousands of years and is thought to be one of the earliest gemstones known to man, with pieces of worked jet dating back to the Stone Age. Jet also was used as a talisman to ward off evil. It became the most popular during the second half of the 19th Century though, and the success of the jet industry at this time can be attributed to Queen Victoria’s love of the gemstone--she at one point was so fond of it, she made it compulsory for jet jewelry to be worn at court. She actually made it popular as she and Prince Albert were great patrons of British manufacture, and that was one of the reasons she liked Whitby jet. When Prince Albert died, she chose it as her gemstone of choice to represent her period of mourning. So now it’s associated with mourning because of the way Queen Victoria wore it, although much jet is also fashion jewelry and unassociated with mourning.”

The Georgians and Victorians were very fond of hair jewelry. The following excerpt extolling the virtues of hair work is from Godey's Lady's Book circa 1863:

"Hair is at once the most delicate and last of our materials and survives us like love. It is so light, so gentle, so escaping from the idea of death, that, with a lock of hair belonging to a child or friend we may almost look up to heaven and compare notes with angelic nature, may almost say, I have a piece of thee here, not unworthy of thy being now."

Take a look at my other original Victorian brooches! http://www.etsy.com/shop/victoriansentiments?section_id=7179660

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Price:1.017,80 kr.

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