Image: Brooch decorated with human hair, Europe, 1701-1900 Wellcome L0058631

Description: The scene of the brooch is made from human hair. It shows a graveyard scene with a weeping willow tree overhanging a gravestone inscribed: ‘IN MEMORY OF A.G.’ Jewellery such as this is called memento mori, a reminder of death. This is because the hair is probably from a departed loved one. Such ‘hairwork’ was a popular craft and pastime in 18th and 19th century Europe. Women in Victorian Britain were permitted to wear hairwork jewellery in the ‘second stage’ of mourning. This began a year and a day after the loved one’s death. maker: Unknown maker Place made: Europe Medical Photographic Library Keywords: human hair; memento mori; brooch
Title: Brooch decorated with human hair, Europe, 1701-1900
Credit: https://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/obf_images/cd/df/97c76f956ee23bf5d0673b506f06.jpg Gallery: https://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/image/L0058631.html Wellcome Collection gallery (2018-03-27): https://wellcomecollection.org/works/f76f38ms CC-BY-4.0
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
License: CC BY 4.0
License Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Attribution Required?: Yes