Thursday, January 6, 2011

Mourning Cameo

I am going to join The French Cupboard for Vintage Black Friday.   This cameo is a mourning cameo.  Mourning jewelry was worn in remembrance of a lost loved one and was very common in the 19th century.  Queen Victoria brought the practice of wearing mourning jewelry to a very fashionable height.  After the death of Prince Albert, she stayed in permanent mourning until she died forty years later.  The cameo is made from fossilized coal called jet.  (Source: Antique Trader)

And of course I can't just show you the cameo, so I made a vignette.  

How do you like the cloche?  I found this today at the thrift store.  It isn't old but, I thought it would be great with this post.  I found this silver brush recently too.  The silver sugar hasn't got a lid but it makes a great vase.

Go and visit The French Cupboard  for more vintage black finds. 
And also, Silver Sunday at Gypsy Fish Journal for silver treasures.

9 comments:

Pamela said...

I love the cloche. It is responsible for a good bit of drooling on my keyboard.

I don't think I've ever seen a black cameo. Thank you for taking the time to explain about it. I loved hearing that Queen Victoria went into permanent mourning after Prince Albert died.

Lori said...

I have never seen a black cameo. Is pretty though.

Sue said...

Oh...interesting and just very cool. I saw the title and thought maybe a pet died:) I love the cloche!

Unknown said...

What a gorgeous piece. I have some mourning pieces made from hair...I know kind of weird but they are pieces from my husband's family and I do find them interesting....and if you didn't know it was hair, they are sort of pretty.

Blessings!
Gail

Blondie's Journal said...

Beautiful vignette, Sherry! I love that cloche and the birds nest is the perfect piece to put inside!

Interesting story about the mourning cameo and Queen Victoria. Imagine mourning for that long.

XO,
Jane

Honey at 2805 said...

Lovely vignette and intersting history about mourning jewelry. I really enjoy vintage items with history or stories attached. I did a post on 12/24 about my great-grandparents Christmas wedding anniversary and dark wedding dresses. I would be delighted if you read it.

I always, always enjoy your blog.

Julie Woods said...

Really interesting thank you x

Debbie said...

I'm crazy about that cloche and was hoping that you would say that you just got it at HomeGoods or some such place so that I could zip out and try to copy it for my guest bath. I have a little bird thing going on in there.

And I love the black cameo! I have always thought that the concept of a mourning period was so interesting for a variety of reasons.

Plus, I have always loved how Queen Victoria loved her Albert. I "get" that.

Erin said...

That is beautiful. I love cameos, and have never seen a mourning cameo, so thanks for sharing. Lovely vignette:)