Untitled (Case with portraits of a man and woman and hair ornaments)

1874

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Impressionism Realism Late 19th Century Portrait

Dominant colour

Untitled (Case with portraits of a man and woman and hair ornaments) is a 1874 by Unknown, a Impressionism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Unknown
When & what style?: 1874 · Impressionism
Where can I see it?: Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

This small case holds two tiny portraits—one of a man, one of a woman—and two swirls of hair shaped like the letters A and M. The hair looks real, like it was cut and glued down. People in the 1800s often saved hair from loved ones as keepsakes. They’d weave it into jewelry or tuck it behind glass like this. The portraits here are baked onto enamel, a shiny, hard surface that lasts. If you like how personal this feels, look up *19th century* keepsakes next.

The story of this work

Overview

The photographs of this man and woman, presumably husband and wife, are juxtaposed with clippings of their hair arranged to form their initials, A and M. In the late 1800s, photographic portraits and hair clippings combined in jewelry or frames served as mementos or memorials for loved ones. For permanence, the portraits here were vitrified on enamel, a process now used primarily for funerary monuments.

Did you know?

"Hairwork," produced in commercial workshops and as a popular craft during the Victorian era, was used to celebrate the living and commemorate the dead.

Read the full account in the museum source.