Author: [German craftsman]
Title: ‘Hair piece’ [a commemorative ‘weeping willow’ made of human hair].
Description: Southern Germany, ca. 1894. Original hand-crafted. In square (29.0 x 27.2 cm) glass-covered wooden frame. = An interesting and moving mourning piece, elaborately and painstakingly crafted from the hair of the deceased, resembling a floral bouquet and tree; enriched with gilt borders, a commemorative handwritten text in German, in a glass covered wooden panel with floral ornaments. This finely crafted work was made in remembrance of Theodor Langenbacher (d. 1890) and his wife, Cëizilie Langenbacher née Bartle, who died in 1893 at the age of 65. Her husband died when he was only 62. This work fits in a long tradition of mourning jewellery. During the 19th century, this type of memorial piece gradually became replaced by photographic portraits, but the tradition has continued to the present day. Edges of the wooden frame with a few small chips, otherwise in very good condition.

Keywords: