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- Description:
- This style can be referred to as bowknot jewelry, and was popular from 1850-1870.The three small jump rings at the bottom of each piece may have been used to suspend small ball drops.
- Date Issued:
- [1860 TO 1875]
- Data Provider:
- Wayne State University. Libraries and The Henry Ford
- Collection:
- Digital Dress Collection
- Description:
- This ring was made to mourn Stephen Van Rensselaer II, born in 1742 and died 1769.He was born into a great patroon family headed by Stephen Van Rensselaer and wife Elizabeth Goresbeck.Stephen II became lord of the manor house Rensselaerswyk at age five, when his own father passed away.Stephen II married Catherine Livingston, from another august New York colonial family--her mother was a Ten Broeck and her father Philip Livingston.Husband Stephen II died suddenly in 1769 at age 27 as one of the wealthiest men of the Albany area.By that time he had fathered three sons:eldest son Stephen Van Rensselaer III (1764-1839) rose to great heights.Stephen III founded Rensselaer School in 1824 (later Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) and was a congressman, business man, and kind benefactor and landlord.This ring is an exceptional piece in the collection as it was made in memory of an early and important American colonist.It is interesting to note that the first Van Rensselaer patroon, Kilaen Van Rensselaer, began trade as a silversmith near Albany.Often money was left in a will so that mourning pieces could be made.Other researchers have attributed this ring to Jacob Boelen (1733-1786) with mark IB and this is a plausible attribution; Boelen was a silversmith who worked outside of Albany.
- Date Issued:
- 1769-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Wayne State University. Libraries and The Henry Ford
- Collection:
- Digital Dress Collection
- Description:
- Sentimental brooch which incorporates a lock of hair of a loved one.The inclusion of black enamel around the hair indicates that the loved one was likely deceased."MBL" may be the initials of the deceased.Half mourning called for jewelry that was not flashy or showed too much shiny gold metal, so many pieces used in half mourning include dark stones or enamel.This was likely made simultaneously with the plaited hair jewelry popular in the 1850s and 1860s.
- Date Issued:
- [1850 TO 1860]
- Data Provider:
- Wayne State University. Libraries and The Henry Ford
- Collection:
- Digital Dress Collection
- Description:
- This ring might be considered an interesting transitional mourning ring.Earlier mourning rings were generally set with sepia scenes under glass and set into the gold band.Later mourning and memorial rings, from the 1830s on, often included locks of hair and onyx, pearls or enamel; some were plaited entirely of human hair.This ring is plain and simple, not unlike other decorative accessories of this classical revival period, and does not include the earlier sepia scenes but is more akin to rings of later in the century.
- Date Issued:
- 1807-01-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Wayne State University. Libraries and The Henry Ford
- Collection:
- Digital Dress Collection
- Description:
- Lace pins become popular in the late 1870s and 1880s as bodices began to have higher necks and included more lace on them.Lace got entangled with heavy brooches with protrusions and so lace pins, which were lighter weight and with few protrusions, were developed.They could also be pinned to the higher necks and stand collars without pulling them down, and were often worn across the collar.The black enamel and gold colored metal form is extremely popular throughout the 1880s.
- Date Issued:
- [1855 TO 1905]
- Data Provider:
- Wayne State University. Libraries and The Henry Ford
- Collection:
- Digital Dress Collection
- Description:
- This pair of earrings is primarily Egyptian in form and decoration. However, it does include some aspects of otherhistorical styles such as the pendant amphora.One might also offer that the knife edge work is also seen in some Greek and Roman revival jewelry.Egyptian motifs were particularly popular in Western jewelry in the later 1860s and 1870s, and these earrings are compatible with the aesthetic of that period.However, screw back earrings were not seen in this era.It seems plausible that these earrings were re-tooled for use in the 1920s when Egyptian styles were popular once again.
- Date Issued:
- [1865 TO 1875]
- Data Provider:
- Wayne State University. Libraries and The Henry Ford
- Collection:
- Digital Dress Collection
- Description:
- Originating in France and achieving its highest point of popularity between 1892-1902, the Art Nouveau movement was showcased at the Paris Exposition in 1900.Art Nouveau emphasized craftsmanship rather than mass production and put more importance on design rather than material.The main characteristic of an Art Nouveau piece is a dynamic, undulating, and flowing curved whiplash line of syncopated rhythm.
- Date Issued:
- [1890 TO 1915]
- Data Provider:
- Wayne State University. Libraries and The Henry Ford
- Collection:
- Digital Dress Collection
- Description:
- These earrings are quite typical gold metal and black enamel earrings dating from about 1870.This gold metal and black enamel decoration is quite popular 1870-1890.However, the decoration on the plaques appears to be from the late 1860s or early 1870s and the length of the earrings indicates a date of the 1870.By the 1880s earrings had become shorter to prevent them from becoming entangled in lacy collars; these are too long to date from the 1880s.
- Date Issued:
- [1865 TO 1875]
- Data Provider:
- Wayne State University. Libraries and The Henry Ford
- Collection:
- Digital Dress Collection