Featured Antique French Hairwork Miniature

Great to have another connection thank you

 

I have emailed them so will let you know if I receive a reply

 

If anything, I guess that they would grateful for such things being shared with them. It's part of their heritage and history.

 

Hair pieces are typically a form of memento mori. That would be consistent with the imagery.

Debora

 

Lovely piece. Very touching, the sisters united in a hairwork after their death. The hair was probably collected over time and given to a hairworker who made it into a mourning scene.
While the maker was not a great artist, he or she was clearly an experienced hairworker. It may have been made by a local hairdresser.

My great-grandfather was one of the last hairwork artists in the Netherlands, possiby the last. He was also a hairdresser and purveyor to the royal court (and a bit of a dandy).

 

Very interesting thank you probably was another nun as she calls them her sisters ??

 

You're right, so she does, 'ma'. That would account for the naive style, unlike that of the trained hairwork artists.
Still, a lot of patience and many hours went into it, and clearly a lot of love. A very touching piece.

 

merci

 

Hi Debora,
What a charming little piece!
My guess is that it was post mortem. Yes, it is possible that they used hair from the deceased sisters.

It is also possible that living sisters, lovingly donated their hair for the piece and one sister worked it. There are 11 hearts at the bottom of the monument and 10 names. One heart may have been for an unknown grave. My gut feeling is that it was worked this way.

Convents were a bustle of handiwork. Much their ecclesiastical clothing, altar cloths, chalice covers, albs, and other linens were embroidered, designed and worked by nuns. Huge amounts of bobbin lace and needle laces were done by nuns.

That said; I do think that even there was a huge amount of needlework done in convents, I do NOT think that the norm was hair work. I do not feel like the ailing nuns or even post death, their hair was gathered....it seems more likely, that the hair was donated by loving sisters after they passed.

It is not a far jump to suggest that this piece was made by a loving, young postulant.

All just a guess!
Cheerio,
Leslie

 

Thank you Leslie for your musings , it would be lovely to know the real answer , I still haven’t heard from the convent so may try one more message .
Best wishes

 

How beautiful ... what a find.