Update Our ticketing, donations, and membership sales portal is down for scheduled maintenance on the afternoon of 4/11.
This oval-shaped brooch is set with a braided knot of human hair under glass. The center is surrounded by a border of drop-shaped faceted jet set in gold mounts. Suspended from the center base of the oval on a thin gold link chainis a pendant tableworked hair cross with gold mounts.
brooches
pins (jewelry)
mourning jewelry
gold (metal)
jet (coal)
human hair
mourning
mourning jewelry
Brooch
On brooch: "J.H.D./Feb 8th 1869." On note one: "Breast him/ with my father/ Hair & Grey cross/ of mothers Hair/ MD Phillips" On note two with one brown and one clear stone: "Not to be set" (engrave and cursive)
Duncan, James Henry, 1793-1869
Original to Phillips House (Salem, Mass.),
1193
J120
Unknown
American[use]
1 3/8 x 3/8 (HxW) (inches)
Gift of the Stephen Phillips Memorial Charitable Trust for Historic Preservation
2006.44.7
Historic New England is committed to implementing reparative language description for existing collections and creating respectful and inclusive language description for new collections. If you encounter language in Historic England's Collections Access Portal that is harmful or offensive, or you find materials that would benefit from a content warning, please contact [email protected].
Sign up to our newsletter for our latest news and events
