Portrait and Hair Jewelry

[lastbloom]

Do any of you have portrait or hair jewelry to compliment your ensembles and add a little "something extra" to your impressions?

I have been morbidly fascinated by hair jewelry since childhood, and was inspired to look for Georgian and Regency examples after rereading Sense & Sensibility and wondering what Edward's infamous hair ring might have looked like.

Many of these pieces are memento mori for loved ones who have died, but some appear to have been worn by lovers and family to remember living loved ones.

Buckle ring, opening to reveal hair:
tinyurl.com/2793xbg

Mourning Ring:
tinyurl.com/2e5vpgj

"Parted to Meet Again":
tinyurl.com/294gwd4

Wheat motif, possibly for a marriage:
tinyurl.com/294gwd4

And of course, the phenomenon of the "Lover's Eye" miniature portraits, a fad supposedly started by the Prince Regent.

Antiques Roadshow Article:
tinyurl.com/co6atq

Lover's eye ring:
tinyurl.com/25ewbzu

Another eye ring:
tinyurl.com/2eqx9q3

There is a lovely young lady on etsy.com who makes eye portraits and is currently having a "sale" and only charging $46. I had meant to commission a painting of my husband's blue, blue eye at Christmas but never had the chance. Maybe for mother's day!

[Eleanor]

I like the sentiment, but I would find an eye ring kind of creepy! I do love my husband's eyes, especially when turned toward me but.... ;-)

[lastbloom]

Oh, I completely agree that there is a certain "squick!" factor with these pieces...hair from corpses, disembodied eyes...

I think they're fascinating though, and might be a good ice breaker if nothing else!

Here's the link to the etsy artist, if anyone is interested:

tinyurl.com/23ofu24

[artemisiajolie]

I too like the idea of the eye rings, but, truly, they are a little... strange. The hair rings might be really neat, especially one like the basket weave on the memorial one. I really like that