Ring for Mourning Phoebe Jackson

Artist Unknown (English)

Place of OriginEngland

Dateabout 1785

DimensionsH: 1 1/8 in. (2.9 cm); W: ¾ in. (1.9 cm)

MediumGold, enamel, human hair, and rock crystal

ClassificationMetalwork

Credit LineGift of Pauline A. Berkowitz

Object number

2008.13

Not on View

Label TextThis Neoclassical ring is a typical example of the mourning jewelry that became fashionable in the second half of the 18th century. The designs, ranging in subject matter from mourners leaning on grave stones to urns, columns, and obelisks, were often standardized and could be bought ready-made. The stylized white and gold urn on the bezel of this ring recalls Jean-Laurent Le Geay’s engravings of classical tombs published in 1770, which became a preferred source for such decorations. Hair from the deceased was sometimes cut up and integrated into the designs as a very personal touch. The enamel urn and pedestal, set on a background of plaited human hair, is inscribed “Sacred to Friendship,” while the back of the mourning ring is engraved with the name of the deceased, Phoebe Jackson, and the date she died: 1785, at age 25. The ring would have been commissioned posthumously, to be given to close friends and family during the memorial services. It would have been worn during the official mourning period and on subsequent anniversaries of the death.Published ReferencesC.f.: Jutta Schuchard,"Schmuck des 'Empfindsamen Zeitalters,' Sepulkrale Motive auf Ringen, Broschen und Anhängern des 18. Jahrhunderts," in Trauerschmuck vom Barock bis zum Art Déco, Exhibition Catalog (Eberhard Haase, ed.), Kassel: Arbeitsgemeinschaft Friedhof und Denkmal e. V., 1995, p. 26.