Love takes many forms, and throughout history, humans have found unique ways to cherish those they hold dear. In the 19th century, love wasn’t just spoken or written-it was braided, woven, and delicately arranged into intricate works of art. Mourning and remembrance were transformed into hair art, a practice that allowed families, lovers, and friends to preserve a physical piece of someone they had lost.
From the aristocratic salons of France to the deep mourning traditions of Victorian England, hairwork was not just a craft; it was a deeply personal and sentimental expression of love.
A Lock of Love: The Origins of Hair Memorials
The idea of keeping a loved one’s hair as a remembrance dates back centuries. Even in ancient times, warriors carried locks of hair from their wives or mothers before heading into battle. By the 18th and 19th centuries, the tradition evolved into an art form, especially among the French, English, and American Victorians, where mourning was an elaborate and public affair.
France: The Delicate Art of Memory
The French have long been at the forefront of romantic gestures, and mourning was no exception. During the 18th and 19th centuries, French artists and nuns created intricate framed hairwork, often arranged in floral wreaths, crosses, or woven designs. These pieces were displayed in homes, churches, and even convents-some crafted as keepsakes for grieving families, others as devotional offerings in religious institutions.
Many of these pieces, known as souvenirs de deuil (mourning souvenirs), bore inscriptions such as “En souvenir de”(In memory) alongside the name and dates of the deceased. Some were made by nuns, like Mère Joseph, who delicately crafted hairwork for families seeking a tangible connection to their loved ones.
Victorian England: The Mourning Obsession
No culture embraced mourning as deeply as the Victorians. When Prince Albert died in 1861, Queen Victoria plunged into decades of mourning, wearing black for the rest of her life and commissioning mourning jewelry featuring his hair.
This inspired a fashion for mourning hair jewelry, where locks of hair were woven into rings, brooches, and bracelets, often framed with jet, gold, or enamel. Some pieces contained tiny portraits or initials intertwined with the hair, creating deeply intimate keepsakes.
Victorian mourning wreaths, much like the French framed hair pieces, were crafted from the hair of an entire family and arranged into elaborate floral patterns. These wreaths often symbolized eternal love, with flowers like forget-me-nots (remembrance) and weeping willows (mourning) incorporated into the design.
Beyond Europe: A Universal Language of Love
Hair art was not confined to Europe. Other cultures found their own ways of using hair as a means of preserving love and memory:
- Sweden & Norway: Scandinavian families created intricate family wreaths, adding a new section with each passing generation.
- Mexico: Inspired by Catholic traditions, woven hair crosses were sometimes placed on altars or within reliquaries.
- China: Some dynasties believed hair carried the life essence of a person, leading to embroidered silk panels incorporating strands of hair.
- The United States: By the 19th century, hair jewelry was popular in both mourning and sentimental contexts, exchanged between lovers as a sign of devotion.
Why Hair? The Deep Symbolism
Unlike clothing or jewelry, hair does not decay. It remains a physical trace of someone’s existence, making it the perfect medium for preserving a memory.
- Love & Intimacy: Carrying a piece of someone you love-be it a spouse, child, or parent-was a deeply intimate act.
- Mourning & Remembrance: Victorian widows often wore mourning rings with their husband’s hair woven inside.
- Generational Connection: Family hair wreaths were a way to honor ancestry, with multiple generations preserved in a single work of art.
A Lost Art, A Timeless Love
By the early 20th century, hairwork fell out of fashion. As photography became more accessible, families turned to portraits instead of physical mementos. Yet today, these intricate, sentimental pieces remain highly collectible, offering a glimpse into a time when love was woven-quite literally-into art.
While mourning customs have evolved, the desire to hold onto love remains unchanged. Whether through a photograph, a locket, or a whispered memory, we still find ways to carry those we love with us. The Victorians and the French simply did it with a strand of hair, carefully shaped into something beautiful.
Would you ever wear or display a piece of hair art? Or does the idea feel too eerie? Let’s discuss in the comments!