Mourning Jewelry: Morbid with a Touch of Class

All kinds of jewelry can be considered commemorative — think of your grandmother's locket or a class ring. But some of the most beautiful/morbid/meaningful jewelry (pick your adjective) is made in memory of the dead. And like seances and curiosity cabinets, this kind of thing really reached its apex in Victorian England.

Because dark feelings are more fun when you share them with the world, I've cobbled together some excellent examples of mourning jewelry from London's wonderful Victoria and Albert Museum. This would make the great start to a Pinterest board for any young Goths. 

Two mourning rings, both in gold with black enamel. L, a memorial ring made for the Bishop of London, Richard Osbaldeston who died in 1764. R, a ring with engravings and plaited hair under glass.

(© Victoria and Albert Museum, London)

The terms "mourning jewelry" and "memento mori" are often used interchangeably to describe similar pieces, but they are in fact slightly different things. Memento mori jewelry simply acts as a token to remember one's own mortality. "Memento mori" literally means "remember you must die" in Latin (or, to quote a little Game of Thrones, "Valar Morghulis").

Mourning jewelry, on the other hand, was made to remember a specific person, often a loved one, and could incorporate organic elements — that is to say, actual bits of the person. Hair from the deceased was the most common, but occasionally even teeth show up in the designs. Skulls and funeral urns were popular motifs in the Victorian era, appearing on everything from rings to pendants to brooches. Designs frequently incorporated pearls, used to symbolize tears. 

You can see more jewelry from the V&A below, or explore their who collection here. 

A gold brooch featuring a funeral of enamel, pearls, and hair

(© Victoria and Albert Museum, London)

From L to R: A memento mori ring with a white enamel skull and the inscription "NOSSE TE IPSUM" (know yourself) along its outer edge, ca. 1600. A solitaire setting with an enameled skull and gold initials mounted on hair, made in the early 1800s. 

(© Victoria and Albert Museum, London)

Two more elaborate examples of mourning rings. The stylized snake ring is gold with black enamel and diamonds for eyes, made in 1846. On its underside there is a chamber that holds braided hair. The ring on the right is also gold with enamel, with amethyst colored glass bordering the central motif. This ring was likely made shortly after 1823, when George Richard Savage Nassau died. His will instructed that mourning rings be made for a number of intimates.

(© Victoria and Albert Museum, London)

A memento mori pendant charm, meant to be hung from a chain

(© Victoria and Albert Museum, London)

Multiple views of an ornate enameled gold mourning ring

(© Victoria and Albert Museum, London)