Woven in hair
a recent gift of hairwork jewellery
Past exhibition
19 July – 1 September 2019
Sign up to our emails and be the first to hear about upcoming exhibitions and events.
Browse past exhibition catalogues, books and gifts, available in the British Museum Shop.
This exhibition uncovered the surprising beauty of jewellery made from human hair and the intimate meaning such pieces had for those who wore them, as friendship, sentimental or memorial tokens.
Made in the 1840s to 1860s, these exquisite jewels, selected from a recent gift, were shown at the British Museum for the first time.
The fashion for hairwork jewellery was made popular in Britain by Queen Victoria. Throughout her life the Queen exchanged locks of freshly cut hair – her own, and those of her children and grandchildren – with members of her family on birthdays and anniversaries. The hair was either mounted in lockets or bracelets, or braided into three-dimensional jewellery made entirely of hair.
These hairwork jewels are a gift from Ann Louise Luthi, author of Sentimental Jewellery (1998) and long-standing volunteer in the Department of Britain, Europe and Prehistory.
