Images(6)

Assemblage

Object number2016.91.1

Framed by J.J. Gillespie & Company

Datec. 1890

OriginPittsburgh, PA

MediumWood/Paper/Satin/Hair/Metal/Felt/Ink

Credit LineGift of John R. Shifler

DescriptionFramed hair art with child portrait. Rectangular wood frame with gold painted carved band around perimeter and flat black interior frame with gold incised decoration; glass glazing. Frame is a shadow box containing a sepia-toned photograph of a baby above woven hair art with a white satin bow at bottom. Hair is light brown and woven in the shape of flowers and leaves with multiple pearl and bead embellishments. Baby is seated in a velvet-lined chair with tassel fringe and gazes at the viewer. Shadow box is lined with paper. Back of frame is covered in black paper and back of shadow box is brown in tone.Dimensions17.5 x 15.625 x 2.625 in. (44.5 x 39.7 x 6.7 cm)
MarksMaker's mark paper label at back center with black printed text "FROM / J. J. GILLESPIE & CO. / 36 Wood Street / PITTSBURGH, PA. / Fine Art Gallery / PAINTINGS, / ENGRAVINGS, / MIRRORS, / PHOTO FRAMES, / EBONY CABINETS, / &c, &c".
Historical NotesFramed work of Victorian-era hair art from unknown ancestors of the donor, John R. Shifler. Hair art existed since the 1200s, but reached its peak in popularity starting in the 1860s through the Victorian period. Hair art or jewelry was often commemorative of a lost relative or a loved one. This framed work with a portrait of a child might have been a memorial for his passing or simply a memento from childhood.

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