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| In Death Lamented by Sarah Nehama |
This Thursday on Fieldstone Common we will speak with jeweler, author and curator Sarah Nehama about In Death Lamented, an exhibit on mourning jewelry.
Mourning jewels, tangible expressions of love and sorrow, are the focus of In Death Lamented on view at the Massachusetts Historical Society (MHS) through 31 January 2013. The exhibition features more than 80 objects representing some of the best examples of this type of jewelry. Exhibition highlights include the Society’s Adams-Winthrop commemorative seal ring containing the braided hair of John Quincy Adams and a gold memorial ring for Queen Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach.
The jewelry included in the exhibition illustrates some of the most exemplary types, from early gold bands with death’s head iconography to bejeweled brooches and the intricately woven hairwork pieces of the Civil War era. Displayed within the larger context of the mourning rites that our New England ancestors brought with them, these relics attest to the basic human emotion of grief and the need to remain connected to those gone before.
A full-color companion book, In Death Lamented: The Tradition of Anglo-American Mourning Jewelry features photographs and descriptions of all of the Nehama and MHS pieces, along with historical and stylistic backgrounds and essays pertaining to cultural practices around death and mourning in England and America.
About the Guest Curator and Author
Sarah Nehama is a designer/jeweler who works in precious metals and gemstones. She sells her work through galleries, at juried shows, and to private customers. Sarah has a degree in art history and studied jewelry making in Boston and New York. She is a collector of antique mourning and sentimental jewelry and currently resides in Boston.
