Existing comment:
Hair as Keepsake
Elite Americans treasured portrait miniatures. Likenesses painted on thin sheets of ivory set into gold or silver cases, these tiny portraits commonly incorporated locks of woven or braided hair, or were painted with pigments mixed with finely minced tresses. When worn suspended from ribbons or cords, clasped into bracelets string with pearls or gold chains, or secured with pins as brooches, portrait miniatures were intimate momentos of newfound of lost loves. |