In Death Lamented - The Exhibit

In Death Lamented exhibit at
the Massachusetts Historical Society

Recently I had the opportunity to view In Death Lamented, the current exhibit at the Massachusetts Historical Society in Boston, Massachusetts.  The exhibit displays 3 centuries of Anglo-American mourning jewelry.

I had the pleasure of being guided through the exhibit by curator, Sarah Nehama who also happens to be this week's guest on Fieldstone Common. 

Hair braiding tool

The exhibit contains two rooms full of mourning jewelry and supporting items such as paintings, embroidery and other items that further explain the story of mourning jewelry.  One of the more unusual items was a tool used to braid hair into tiny braids that could be placed in mourning jewelry or even used as the rope for bracelets or necklaces.

The Haven-Cheever Brooch

During the tour, we stopped to record Sarah speaking about the history and style of a single piece of jewelry - the Haven-Cheever Brooch. Listen to the audio clip to get a sense about why mourning jewelry was created.  Then listen in live on Thursday, January 3, 2013 at 1pm EST to hear the full interview with Sarah Nehama.

Listen: (3:35 min.)

In Death Lamented
companion book

The FREE exhibit will continue at the Massachusetts Historical Society through the end of January 2013. It is well worth the trip into Boston. For those of you who live too far to visit, there is a beautiful, color companion book which features many of the jewelery pieces on display.

Details
Exhibit: In Death Lamented, Anglo-American Mourning Jewelry
Curators: Sarah Nehama and Anne E. Bentley
Location: The Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston, MA
Duration: Sept. 28, 2012 through Jan. 31, 2013
Cost: Free
Book: In Death Lamented by Sarah Nehama