Wreath, Hairwork
Colchester Historeum
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| Nom de l'objet : | Wreath, Hairwork |
| Catégorie de l'objet : | Memorabilia |
| Matériaux : | Glass |
| Numéro d'accession : | 01.2716 |
| Date de début de production : | 1850-01-01 |
| Date de fin de production : | 1950-12-31 |
| Description : | Black shadow box frame that is lined with fabric. Mounted inside the box is a wreath that is made with hair. There are bead embellishments. The wreath is a horse shoe design that is made up of hair flowers. |
| Commentaires : | This wreath was most likely made by a family member of Pauline Blanche nee Wilson Wasson or her husband Arlie Wasson. They lived on Duke Street in Truro, Nova Scotia. Pauline was born circa 1916 in Lower Debert and died in 2001 in Truro. Her husband predeceased her by thirty-three days. Her father was Fleming Wilson and her mother was Ina Blanche Lightbody. Pauline was a schoolteacher and homemaker. She was a life member at the Evelyn Gullison Womens Missionary Group, and also did volunteer work at the Butler Center. She had two daughtersAlena nee Wasson Wright and Libby nee Wasson Langille. She was predeceased by her brothers James Merle Wilson, and Arthur Gordon Wilson. Hair wreaths were made in the nineteenth century alongside the development of mourning jewelleryjewellery that was made from the deceaseds hair. Up until the mid- nineteenth century, wig-makers guilds had had strong policies on hair work, and it was unlawful to sell hair items they were not a product of a wig-makers guild. Hair was used for different commercial purposes, and by the 1850s had become a somewhat expensive commodity. At the 1853 Crystal Palace Exposition in New York City, there was a full line of hair jewellery on view, as well as a tea set made from hair. Also during the 1950s, Godeys Ladys Book and Petersons Magazine published instructions and pattern for making hair brooches, hair cuff links, and hair bracelets. Mourning jewellery became more popular after Prince Albert passed away in 1861, and Queen Victoria expressed extensive grief. At the same time, during the American Civil War, mourning jewellery was made from deceased soldiers hair. A soldier would leave hair with their family members, which was made into a piece of mourning jewellery when they passed away. Hair was even collected from fourteen of the first US presidents, and mounted in a shadow box. With this said, hair craftwork is strongly associated with Vamhus, Sweden. In the early 1800s women in Vamhus were very skilled at making jewellery and crafts from hair. The women divided into small groups and traveled to Finland, Germany, England, and Norway to sell their work. Hair wreaths are most often memorial wreaths of more than one persons hair. Although, they can also be collections of hair from living members of churches, schools, or extended family. Typically, when a person died, hair was collected from them, and added to the wreath. The wreath was made up of elaborate and intricate stitched hair flowers, that when assembled together, formed a horseshoe shaped wreath. The top of the wreath is the open partit is symbolic for ascension to heaven. For the most part, the wreath was an ongoing processthe latest person to die was added to the center of the wreath. They were moved to another area of the wreath when the next person past away. Hair wreath flowers were formed from stitched hair. The hair was stitched with fine wire around rod guides. The wreaths were embellished with pearls or seeds or other small, sentimental objects. The wreaths were usually mounted in a silk or velvet lined box. Makers sometimes include a label or list of whose hair was in the wreath and what flower corresponded with them. Hair was also used in other ways during the Victorian Era. Palette work or cut work was done by gluing hair to a flat piece of tissue paper. When the glue dried the mounted hair was cut into different shapes. The small shapes were assembled to make a pattern or design, and the resultant form was placed in a brooch, pendant, or other setting. Sepia hair painting refers to small paintings that have paint that is coloured by finely ground hair. Little paintings were made with the hair paint, and sometimes this art form was used in conjunction with cut work, or, with the addition of a single colour pastel background. Table work is the method that was used for mourning jewellery. Womens tables were 32 to 33 inches high and mens tables were 48 inches high. They had a small, circular top, and look more like a stool than a table. The work was done sitting and standing. Hair was prepared in a fifteen minute soda-water-boil. After it boiled, the hair was organized by lengths, and put into groups of 20 to 30 hairs. The hair was wound onto different bobbins, and was kept straight by weights attached to it. It was necessary to have long hair for a lot of the jewellery pieces. The strands were woven and stitched around a mould or hard form. Intricate forms like spiral earrings would need unique moulds made by wood turners. Moulds attached at the center of the table. After the work was finished, it was boiled again for fifteen minutes. Once it dried it was taken off the mould, and sent to a jeweller to be mounted. |
| Hauteur : | 13.5 cm |
| Longueur : | 44.5 cm |
| Largeur : | 39.5 cm |
| Établissement : |
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| Ville de l'établissement : | Truro |
| Province de l'établissement : | Nova Scotia |
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