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Funerals, Burials and Mourning

back to Funerals, Burial & Mourning section homeMourning WearMourning AccessoriesThe Funeral Tomb of the Old White KingAt Durer's Grave(Approaching the Guillotine)James & Lonise BiasLenin at the Palladiumto Final Farewell exhibition beginning
Mourning Accessories:
Clamshell Reticule, Men's Watch Fob, Finger Purse,
Fan, Beaded Chatelaine, and Comb

 
Mourning Accessories

During the Victorian period, mourning accessories for men and women could include a variety of materials, but jet, black amber, and human hair were specifically associated with grief over death. Ornamentation was subdued, but could become more elaborate as the stages of mourning progressed. Throughout the mourning period, a veil was also worn but was shortened as time passed.

Mourning Accessories: Chatelaine, Finger Purse,
Clamshell Reticule, Hair Comb, and Fan
Late 19th–early 20th centuries
Cotton, silk, metal, embroidery thread, steel beads
Lent by Stephens College Costume Research Library
Matilda Magnus Price Historic Fashion Collection
Columbia, Missouri

Men’s Watch Fob
Late nineteenth century
Human hair, enamel, gilded metal
Lent by Professor William R. Biers