Mourning Jewelry
In addition to clothing and clothing accessories, jewelry was also worn as an expression of grief. Although mourning jewelry existed as early as the 16th century in Europe, it reached the height of its popularity in America during the 19th century. Jewelry, like furniture, textiles, ceramics, and clothing, represented wealth and status. Aesthetically, mourning jewelry mirrored architecture and furniture and followed changing tastes for rococo, neoclassical, and gothic design. The Filson has 45 pieces of mourning and hair jewelry (hairwork often being an essential component of mourning jewelry) in its collection.
