Our Dearly Departed: A History of Mourning Jewelry

Mourning jewelry in Western European (and later, American) culture dates back to the 16th century but gained huge popularity in the mid-19th century when Queen Victoria mourned the death of her beloved Prince Albert. A few years later, America was embroiled in a civil war with massive loss of life, also creating a big demand for items of mourning.
In this talk, Sarah Nehama, a metalsmith and antique jewelry collector, will give an overview history of mourning jewelry, beginning with the source of its early iconography in memento mori jewelry and objects. She will cover style, iconography, and materials from the mid-17th century up to the early 20th century, showing mourning jewelry’s place in connection to political and public figures, as well as intimate friends and family. Its relation to sentimental jewelry through this time period, particularly sentimental pieces incorporating hair, portraits, or photos, will also be covered. Sarah will have many visual examples to share, and she will highlight jewelry with specific New England connections.

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Sarah Nehama is a working metalsmith and antique jewelry collector based in Providence, RI. Sarah received a degree in Art History from Boston University and studied jewelry making at the century-old North Bennett Street School in Boston's North End. She also learned the ancient technique of high-karat gold granulation with Cecilia Bauer in her New York City studio. In 2012, Sarah co-curated the exhibition, In Death Lamented: The Tradition of Anglo-American Mourning Jewelry at the Massachusetts Historical Society in Boston, MA. She authored the companion volume by the same name and was a major lender to the exhibition. Since then, Sarah has lectured on the topic of mourning and sentimental jewelry at museums, historical societies, jewelry associations, and antique symposia, both in the U.S. and in Australia.

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