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Victorian Antique Mourning Swivel Brooch Hair Pendant
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Victorian Antique Mourning Swivel Brooch Hair Pendant
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Massive Antique Victorian SWIVEL Hair Brooch/Pendant with Old Cameo and Angel Insert c. 1850-60 This is a wonderful piece of Victorian history. One of the largest Memorial/Mourning (or Memento Mori) swivel brooches I have seen. It has the original beveled and glazed rock crystal compartments, one containing an elaborate hairwork picture with Prince of Wales style hair plumes (feathers) in Blond and Black hair with gold wiring and tiny seed pearl embellishments. The reverse side appears to be an inserted impressed picture of a lovely cameo kissing a winged angel. Not certain what this material is, but the background is green andthe image is white. The brooch swivels so that either side can be worn facing forward. Crystal compartments are surrounded by an ornate hand-etched hollow-tube mount (likely constructed of pinchbeck) with tiny attached leaves. It is in wonderful overall condition. Missing 2 leaves on the frame. Retains the original tube hinge, c-clasp and extended pin stem with a loop at the top back, which would allow the piece to be worn as a pendant. Measures 3" long x just over 2.50" wide. Mourning jewelry mirrored the lives and times of the people who wore it. It was a souvenir to remember a loved one, a reminder to the living of the inevitability of death, and a status symbol, especially during the Victorian era. The earliest examples of mourning jewelry were found in Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries. Black and white enameled heads or skulls were often set into rings and brooches. In the 17th and 18th centuries it was a status symbol to present mourning rings to friends and families of the bereaved.Mourning jewelry reached its height of popularity in England after the death of Prince Albert in December 1861. Queen Victoria went into deep mourning, which was imitated by her subjects when faced with their own bereavements. Following Albert's premature death, Queen Victoria ordered that his dressing room at Windsor Castle remain exactly as he left it. His clothes were laid out every night, and hot water prepared for nightly ablutions. The queen slept with a photo of the head and shoulders of Albert taken as he lay dead. All family photos included a life size marble bust of Albert in the center of the group. Victoria required everyone at court to wear mourning attire on social occasions for three years. She remained a semi-recluse and wore black for the rest of her life. In the United States the use of mourning jewelry increased with the outbreak of the Civil War. This coincided with the black jewelry used in England in sympathy with Queen Victoria's widowhood.
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