25 January 2011

A mourning buckle

An interesting item from the Victoria and Albert:
Jewels commemorating the dead were widely worn during the 17th century. This mourning buckle contains panels of woven hair, decorated with an elaborate inscription in gold thread and a small enamelled skull, all set behind rock crystal. The inscription, partly in Latin, tells us that the piece commemorates Elizabeth Harman who died on 11 April 1698, aged 27.
I couldn't find a way to rotate the photo 90 degrees to orient it more "buckle-like," so it looks a bit odd.  The hair runs around the perimeter of the buckle, underneath the inscription.

Image fixed, with a hat tip to nolandda!

1 comment:

  1. "And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you."

    Rotated π/2 clockwise

    Rotated π/2 widdershins

    ReplyDelete

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