Featured Your thoughts on this bracelet?

Picked this up at auction a few nights ago.

“Amethyst and gold filled mourning bracelet with woven hair”

each side panel is hinged to the center section, there is no closure

the woven “hair” has elasticity, like a stretch bracelet. The weave is done in a way that it is rather tight when at rest and the elastic effect occurs when pulled and the band constricts. The only thing I can compare to is the toy “Chinese finger handcuffs” if you are familiar with those.

under a loupe, the “hair” looks like it may be synthetic. It’s a beautiful bronze/brown color but has a sheen like fishing line.

the age to the entire piece seems consistent, and I checked the “hair” with a blacklight and it did not glow like a synthetic material would

is there a hair weaving technique that produces elasticity from a non elastic fiber such as hair? Or is it a reasonable assumption that the “hair” is a later addition to the piece?

I am unable to see how the “hair” is fastened to the side pieces

there are no markings on the piece

 

the hair is secured before the back plate is attached.....

that's very neat !!!!

 

It's really interesting, and in such good shape.
And your photos are great!

 

It's very likely that synthetic thread hadn't been invented when your bracelet was created. I'd assume it's a Victorian human hair bracelet. Preserving the hair would be the reason for the bracelet; it wouldn't be an afterthought. And amethyst may be the birth stone of the deceased.

Debora

 

Yes, that’s why I mentioned that the age seems to be consistent across the entire piece. It’s the elasticity of the weave that has me questioning if a synthetic woven fiber was added later, possibly replacing the original real hair

 

What a fantastic piece. It looks like real hair to me. How unusual! It's stunning.

 

No doubt natural human hair! The braiding weaving patterns allows elasticity.
The hair is secured in the findinds with shellac. Don’t heat it!
Nice Victorian piece in good condition

 

There's a lot of real hair bracelets out there... https://www.google.com/search?q=wov...atBhkQ_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=1210&bih=623&dpr=1.3

 

Gorgeous, JP. Not a mourning bracelet, but a very fashionable bracelet at the time.

The hair in woven jewellery was rarely that of a loved one, it was often human hair sold by poor women to supplement their income.
And quite a lot of these 'human hair' bracelets were made from horse hair. I know there was a substantial jewellery horse hair weaving cottage industry in Germany, probably other places as well.

As kyra said, the elasticity comes from the weaving technique, or, as in the watch chain Debora posted, braiding technique.

It is only recently that all hair jewellery is thought to be mourning jewellery. Sellers.
Around the same time as commercially made woven and braided hair jewellery, hair of loved ones was usually kept in lockets or simply behind glass. Either as a lock of hair, a woven panel, or hair art. Hair art is a delicate picture made from hair, like a weeping willow and an urn.
As far as I know, hair art was made for mourning only, but woven hair panels and locks of hair were also kept for non-mourning sentimental reasons. A lock of hair of your child close to your heart, for instance.

 

Not about hair weaving, but a little background info about hair artistry:

One of my great-grandfathers was one of the last hair artists of the Netherlands. He made his last hair picture in the early 1920s.
He was a 'coiffeur', the French term was used for high end hairdressers.
He had studied in Brussels, where he also learned to make hair art and do make up (also for men). He was purveyor to the Dutch royal court, and did their hair and make up when they visited the south.
He only made hair pictures on demand, in his spare time, from the hair of his deceased clients. In those days ladies of means went to a hairsalon daily, so he considered it his last tribute to valued clients, many of whom he had known very well for decades.

 

Thanks for all the input!

I have acquired Victorian mourning and hair jewelry in the past, but never with elasticity… and that had me questioning the authenticity of the hair

thanks for the good news!

 

I have read (Don't remember where) that many women had hair braiding tables and made hair rememberances of their loved ones, living and dead. A favorite was watch chains, made from their hair, for their husbands. Each time he checked the time he would be reminded of her. The same notion went for lockets hung from watch chains; a photo of her and a lock of hair. This practice is backed up by the action of lovers desiring and coveting a lock of a loved ones hair. This is a much more enjoyable way of viewing hair jewelry be it true or false.

 

What a remarkable story. You have a very interesting family including your self.

 

I had about 10 5" long samples of braided hair in various styles. They all had some elasticity though, depending on the weave some had more than others.

 

It never looks like hair - it's coated

"The other ends of the strands must now be gathered together, firmly tied with pack thread, and then gummed with a cement composed of equal parts of yellow wax and shellac melted together and well amalgamated, and then rolled into sticks for use. We now come to the table and the arrangement of the strands on it."
http://www.victoriana.com/Jewelry/victorian-hair-jewelry.html

 

That has explains why it looks like nylon under magnification! Thanks