Abstract

TSOUMAS, Johannis. Mourning jewelry in late Georgian and Victorian Britain: a world of fantasy and tears. Revista Convergências [online]. 2022, vol.15, n.30, pp.121-134.  Epub Nov 30, 2022. ISSN 2184-0180.  https://doi.org/10.53681/c1514225187514391s.30.150.

The main objective of this research paper is to trace and enhance the development of British mourning jewelry and rituals through the magnificent historical, cultural, artistic and technological changes of the long nineteenth century. Methodologically, via extensive bibliographical references, the author examines profoundly the roles of the nineteenth century royal courts and personalities, specifically those of the late Georgian and mid Victorian period and first focuses on the French influenced British mourning jewelry. Through an analysis of selected mourning jewelry types he tries to reveal the aesthetic and symbolic characteristics on which the later British burial tradition was based on. Subsequently, he focalizes on Queen Victoria’s personality in severely reshaping the ideal of traditional burial practices and thus reestablishing the idea of modern British mourning customs, among which mourning jewelry was of predominant importance, reaching their peak in the 1880s.

Keywords : Georgian period; Victorian times; burial tradition; memories; mourning jewelry.

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