Victorian Mourning Garb

"The Victorian age was named for England’s Queen Victoria. She took the throne in 1837 and died on January 22, 1901. Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, died of typhoid in 1861. During this period of forty years, the Queen was in mourning. She remained in full mourning for three years and dressed the entire court that way. The Victorian era reflected the Queen’s prudish ethics as well as, most visibly, her personal taste in mourning.
Mourning clothing was an unmistakable and intricate part of life in the 19th century. The act of proper Victorian mourning seems an art today. Certain lengths and stages of mourning as well as colors and fabrics all contributed to this language."

plus info on mourning dress, jewellery, hair art.

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Melanie Bilenker Jewellery

"I take photos of my ordinary daily goings on and then make drawings from them using strands of hair set into epoxy resin. If the portraits are of me, then I use my hair. I have done portraits of others using their hair as well (and several of cats using cat hair).

I am most inspired by victorian mourning jewelry and portrait miniatures, as well as contemporary photography focusing on traces of daily life, including some work by sophie calle, cindy sherman, larry sultan and hans peter feldman."

Brooch (2007) , 4.2 x 4.7 x 1cm
Materials: Gold, sterling silver, ebony, resin, pigment, hair


Necklace (2006), 2.8 x 2.7 x .8 cm (pendant), 57 cm (chain)
Materials: Gold, boxwood, epoxy resin, pigment, hair


Brooch (2007), 5.6 x 6.4 x 1cm
Materials: Gold, sterling silver, ebony, resin, pigment, hair


"The Victorians kept lockets of hair and miniature portraits painted with ground hair and pigment to secure the memory of a lost love. In much the same way, I secure my memories through photographic images rendered in lines of my own hair, the physical remnants. I do not reproduce events, but quiet minutes, the mundane, the domestic, the ordinary moments."

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