The Ornamented Being

Valar Morghulis.

“This enamelled gold mourning ring commemorates the death of Samuel Nicholets of Hertfordshire who died on 7th July 1661, as is recorded in the inscription inside the ring. The ring is hollow, and a lock of hair curls around within it, visible through the openwork of the enamelled decoration of skulls and coats of arms.”

V&A

For Prince Albert, Dated 1861, Embossed and pierced cream card with letterpress and black painted border.

V&A

Late Stuart memorial slides—-
Skull and crossbones, dated on reverse, 1679,
Skelton with hour-glass, skull and spade,
Wirework monogram with cherubs holding a skull, 1690,
Naked lady reading at a table with a skull and hourglass, 1705,

Four enamelled gold mourning rings, English, 1658-1732 : Most surviving examples are dated after the Great Plague of 1666; the hoops depict skeletons and “memento mori” symbols, derived from the Bills of Mortality pinned up in local parishes.

Gold posy-ring given as pledge; openwork flowers to contain hair, “Thee and I will lovers die”*

British Museum

* If I ever decide to get married on my husbands wedding ring I want to engrave This and I until I die.

I’m sorry! I know some people find it creepy but I adore Memento Mori.

“Memento Mori” coffin pendants 16c,
Stuart memorial jewellery 1660-1714 Charles I’s miniature portrait,
Charles II memorial rings 1684,
Silver box with memorial jewels—
Five of the jewels with monograms in gold wire; one with a skeleton and MEM.MOR (memento mori: remember that you must die). The memorials late 17th or early 18th c, set in an 18th-century box.

British Museum

Detroit Ruin Porn Documents the Decline and Fall of an Empire

Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre, image from “The Ruins of Detroit” (2005- )

(image from thestapleton.com)

I can’t find the website now but they said this: “Think back on photographs of the Angkor temples in Cambodia, remains of what was once the largest city on Earth, or depictions of the Egyptian pyramids. These buildings and spaces are now dead, existing only as monuments to what once was and as prophecies foretelling every civilization’s eventual collapse.”

When I look at these photos I’m reminded of the Victorian memento mori or ”Remember you must die.”

Nothing is forever.

Locket containing George Washington and Martha Washington’s hair sold at James D. Julia Auctions August 5, 2009 for $ 7,475.00 (source here)

I know I’ve posted it before but I just love this piece.

Locket of Love, it is an incredible gold pendant containing the hair of the couple Admiral Nelson and Emma Hamilton. This locket was known to be made in the year the duo began their affair. This important piece, known to experts, marks the Battle of Nile and it is dated on August 1, 1798, the very first day of that epic encounter. The pendant containing two locks of hair on either side, with a letter N on the front symbolizes the name of Admiral Lord ‘Nelson’. With glowing pearls taking the contour of an anchor, with an arrow signifying intimate love and a garland signifying victory, this pendant has an attention grabbing aesthetics. While Nelson’s sandy-colored hair is placed around the inscription, Emma’s darker lock is placed on the reverse. This pendant was auctioned and sold for £44,000. Most individuals who have researched about this pendant are quite convinced and agree to the fact that it is a token symbolizing the word’s famous love affairs.

All Souls Day - 1859 by William Adolphe Bouguereau

late 1840s

The Met

This is what I feel like wearing right now.