Aug-2024
Love and Mourning: What’s Inside of a Locket?
Each recent decade seems to have its own version of the locket, from the 1980s revival of classic, engraved Victorian versions, to 1990s minimalist hearts, to the early 2000s use of birthstones, and other glitz and glam. In the last few years, the locket has been even more en vogue, with jewelry companies increasingly designing more, and fashion magazines publishing listicles of the best lockets of the season. The locket is an iconic piece of jewelry that has truly transcended time—but what makes it of such particular interest, and why do jewelers and the public alike continually return to it?
Perhaps the timelessness of lockets is linked to their customizable nature: beyond their ability to hold individual photos or other small items, their flat surface means its outside is easily engraved or personalized. Ownership of a locket is a highly personal thing, meant to symbolize a turning point or a deep connection between two individuals, and its status as a portable piece of art and as a mark of mourning has fueled its popularity over time. This blog examines the customization and celebration of the locket.
The history of the locket begins as early as the 15th century, when they were worn by both men and women. They were generally pendants, brooches, and rings with portraits of either loved ones or monarchs within. Early lockets also occasionally included a perfumed piece of cloth to create a pleasant aroma. Their popularity surged in the 17th century, following the execution of King Charles I (d. 1649), after which his loyal followers continued to wear a likeness of him hidden inside a locket. The locket format allowed followers to continue their support yet in a concealed manner. This sparked closer association between the locket and mourning. It was also in the 17th century that locks of hair began to occasionally be kept in lockets.
The 18th century was marked by the trend of wearing an “eye” locket, with a closely painted image of a loved one’s eye dominating the frame. Though the locket was less common in colonial America, later colonial jewelry often was related to important or sentimental life events, such as marriage and death. This sentimental jewelry set a precedent for later locket jewelry through incorporating items of emotional, spiritual, or religious significance as well as locks of hair.
Lockets reached their peak of popularity during the Victorian era, at least partially due to a bracelet owned by Queen Victoria upon which eight lockets were attached, each containing a lock of hair from one of her eight children. After the death of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria also began to wear a large mourning locket containing a photograph of Albert on one side and a lock of his hair on the other. As such, both lockets and hairwork jewelry took off in popularity across Europe and the Americas, becoming both increasingly affordable and appealing to the middle class. In the 19th and 20th centuries, lockets also formed a popular gift given by soldiers to loved ones before departing for war or long journeys.
Moving into the modern era, lockets have continued to evolve, but with an aesthetic and sentiment rooted in history.
Gold Locket with Initials “E.C.”:
Gold Locket with Initials “E.C.”
A perfect example of a locket personalized to its owner, this oval gold locket dates to the late 1800s. Embossed on its front are stylized initials, appearing to be an interlocking “E.C.” Inside are two photographs, one of a bearded man and the other a woman in a black dress. It was common practice for couples to be placed facing one another, so that when the locket was closed they would be able to “look” at one another. X2016.1285.
Shell Design:
Face of Shell Design Locket
Family Photographs within Shell Design Locket
With a stippled design and a gold shell in the center of its front face, this gold locket is another classic late Victorian version. A man and a woman face one another inside, both older, suggesting they may have been parents to the original owner. X2016.1284.
Silver Motif Locket:
Face of Silver Motif Locket
Family Photographs Inside of Silver Locket
The Hindu god Skanda appears on this silver locket in repoussé (hammered metal). The firstborn son of Shiva, the creator and protector of the universe in Hindu faith, Skanda (also known as Karttikeya or Subrahmanya) is the god of love and war. Skanda is also widely regarded as the god of the Tamil people and has served as inspiration for many poet saints. His likeness on this locket indicates the religious and cultural heritage of the couple within, facing a pillow of brown velvet. Designs on lockets could pay homage to specific significant figures and traditions in one’s life and, as this locket demonstrates, was a way to demonstrate cultural heritage. Lockets might also aid the wearer in their remembrance and mourning of loved ones. X2014.1031.
Garnet Pavé Locket:
Garnet Pavé Locket
Image of Child, Back of Garnet Locket
This star-shaped locket defies the traditional locket format, as it does not open and shut on a hinge but rather has a decorative front with a black and white image of a child on its back. The child sits on a lap, though no other detail is discernible as the photograph has been cropped. The locket begs the question of what precisely a “locket” is. Is it necessary for a locket to be in the traditional form of having a photograph or other sentimental item be inside of a hinged box, or does any jewelry that includes a sentimental item or image count? It is worth noting as well that this piece is part of a suite of jewelry including a set of matching star-shaped garnet earrings, indicating that the pendant was both fashionable and sentimental. Gift of Mrs. Edward H. Osgood, 5135C1.
Globe-Shaped Locket:
Globe Locket Exterior (1)
Globe Locket Exterior (2)
Photographs in Globe Locket Interior (1)
Photographs in Globe Locket Interior (2)
Another example of a locket in a more unconventional format, this globe-shaped locket features four photographs, similar to a photo album. The spherical shape enables this gallery style of images. The globe has been a popular motif for lockets throughout the years, sometimes symbolizing a sense of exploration. Gift of the Patton-Oswald family, PFA.04.0703.
Gold Locket with Hairwork:
Gold Locket Face
Lock of Hair within Gold Locket
The rise of mourning jewelry in the Victorian era was tied to the rise of hairwork, or the inclusion of a lock of hair in a locket. Keeping a loved one’s hair within a locket was a tactile and long-lasting memento of a loved one, creating a “secular relic” for the wearer. Hair, when given in a romantic context, was meant as a promise of love or remembrance. X2016.1406.
George S. Patton Locket:
George S. Patton Locket
Photograph of George S. Patton and Lock of Hair within Locket
Since it was donated to the Wenham Museum in 2019, the Patton Family Archive has become the responsibility of the Wenham Museum. The Patton family name has been prominent in New England for over a century, the most well-known member of which was George S. Patton III, who served in the European theater during WWII. His son George S. Patton IV served in the Korean and Vietnam wars. This piece of mourning jewelry is in remembrance of the first George S. Patton (1833-1864), who died during the US Civil War while a colonel in the Confederate army. The locket is engraved and contains both a daguerreotype portrait of him and a lock of his hair. It is a prime example of a family memory passed down through mourning jewelry. Gift of the Patton-Oswald family, PFA.04.0558.
Mourning Ring:
Mourning Ring
Mourning Ring
A gold mourning ring which opens on the side so that hair may be inserted into it, encircling the finger as the ring does. The ring was held in a wooden box inscribed “L.A.D. 1954,” presumably in reference to the donor, Louis A. Dodge. The ring can be understood as an interpretation of the mourning locket. The majority of “locket rings” have a face that protrudes from the ring’s band, yet this design is simpler, and its compartment is not noticeable at first glance, likely indicating its deeper tie to personal and private mourning. Gift of Louis Dodge, 2233.
Mourning Brooch:
Mourning Brooch
An oval, gold pin with a mesh border made of hair surrounding an oval piece of glass, under which there is another piece of blonde hair. This brooch represents the creativity with which hairwork was often approached. Complex hairwork such as this was very popular amongst those of the middle class, as it was very affordable. It was easy to produce because it required little machinery or start-up costs. As such, until about 1900, hairwork was often produced by smaller jewelers. The 19th century was a time of experimentation, with jewelers often working to make the hair appear as if it was another material, like metal wire. Other experimental examples, beyond making the hair appear more “gem-like,” include the crushing of hair and using it within paint, and hair used as thread for embroidery. X2016.1415.
Tortoiseshell Locket:
Tortoiseshell Locket
Tortoiseshell jewelry was popular in America throughout the 19th century. The most commonly used source was the hawksbill sea turtle, and the material was imported to the United States from China and the West Indies. Its fashionable nature is reflected in the interior of the locket, which slides open to reveal one side with space for a photograph or an object, but a second side as a gold-rimmed mirror. This indicates the turning tide of the locket’s purpose, as it rose to be both sentimental and more of a fashion statement. Gift of Mrs. Harry Pulsifer, 829.
Photograph of a Locket:
Photograph of a Locket
Taken in September of 1908, this photograph documents a locket or pocket watch which held the likenesses of Major Richard Dodge and his wife Mrs. Richard Dodge. The earliest iterations of the locket, dating back to the 16th century, were largely gender neutral. However, in the 19th and 20th centuries, when jewelry became more gender specific, men’s pocket watches were a fashion which could be used in the same way as the more feminine lockets, allowing men to carry a version of mourning jewelry or keep a photograph of a sweetheart. X2016.367.
Princeton Locket:
Princeton Locket
A brass locket attached to a black velvet ribbon boldly displays the Princeton University seal. Inside are two places where a photo or other object may be placed, though it is at present empty. On the back are embossed monogrammed letters. Class rings began as a tradition for college students in 1835; the pendant is an offshoot of this. College jewelry was at peak popularity in the mid-20th century. This locket represents the diversity of locket forms, and how, as a symbol of remembrance, it transcends typical ideas of memory—in short, in this case it holds specific memories that stem from college, rather than a memento of family or loved ones. Gift of John W. Page, 4145.
Lacework:
Locket-Shaped Lacework
Dating to the first decade of the 1900s, this woman’s collar is composed of lace and intended to be pinned closed in the back. Women typically made their own lace collars. At its center is a hanging lace “pendant,” here thought to be modeled from the heart-shaped locket of the Victorian era. The locket motif was undeniably iconic so that it could be recreated in lace and be perfectly understood as representative of the locket form by most who saw it. Gift of Mrs. Marian Hall, 1970.33.071.
Molly’s Locket:
Locket of American Girl doll Molly
American girl doll Molly lived during World War II, in which her father served. Her silver locket, in the shape of a heart, features embossed floral motifs on the front, and includes a photo of Molly’s father inside it. Though the museum’s doll and her locket date to the early 1990s, lockets are still available for purchase as an accessory for Molly. Not only does this mark the locket as an item of historical significance during the second World War, but also shows the locket’s universality as something that was worn by many people, including children, and is understood as an object of significance, even in children’s imaginative play. Donated by Yankee Doodle Dollar, D1992.05.001n.
Morgan Stevenson-Swadling, Collections Intern.