Stunning Victorian Woven Hair Cross Pendant with Long Plaited Hair Chain

THE STORY - I confess to being somewhat bewitched by the Victorians desire to wear the hair of the ones they loved, woven into fine and beautiful pieces of jewellery, so when I saw this Cross I knew absolutely I wanted it for my shop; it was so very beautiful. The wearing of jewellery made from hair became very popular in the Victorian era around 1860, after the death of Victoria's beloved Albert and the fashion of wearing mourning jewellery, although this jewellery was not just used for mourning but also as a gift of sentimentality. The desire for hair work jewellery was so great booklets with necessary tools were available to buy, as there were a number of unscrupulous hair workers who created commissioned items not in the hair of the loved one as it may not of been workable for the item, but used bought in hair instead. This cross however, I do not think was a DIY item, I do think it has been professionally made as it is so fine. The hair has been woven and glued fixing it in the spherical forms of the cross. And what is so beautiful is the at the tip of each of the arms is a gold coloured ball from which tiny little tassels fall, and the tassels are amazing, I am not entirely sure as they are so tiny but it looks to me that they are made up of tiny little rings. There are no markings on the metal work and I am not in a position to test them but my instinct is that they are gold as this would be in keeping with the quality of the cross so am selling this as yellow metal. The necklace that came with the cross, maybe a homemade piece as it is simply plaited and is very long, with five possibly copper links joining sections each of approx 10". At the centre of the necklace there is clip which the cross can be attached to. It is impossible to know whether the necklace and the pendant were made for the same person using the same loved ones hair, although they are both made of a similar dark brown coloured hair.

AGE - Circa 1860

CONDITION - THE CROSS - The cross is in very good condition, with no holes to the hairwork that I can see. There is a lack of symmetry to the spherical arms of the cross. The ball at the stem of the cross holds just one tasselled bead where the arms hold two, whether one has been lost or it is meant to be like this it is impossible to say.
THE NECKLACE - The necklace is in very good condition with only occasional light fraying to the plaiting. I also want to say when I got the items the necklace had been folded and I have since stored it rolled as flat as I can in tissue paper, but some of the folds have not dropped out.

DIMENSIONS (Approx) - THE CROSS - Height 2&3/4" / 6.5cm, Width 2&1/4" / 5.5cm, Depth 1/4" 0.5cm
THE NECKLACE - Length 50" / 127cm

Of course I wish I knew the history of both the cross and the necklace, but one thing I do know for certain they were cherished both at the time and since as they are in such wonderful condition and I am not surprised. The cross is so beautifully made and I wonder if on wearing those little tassels made a comforting noise to the wearer. It really is truly incredibly that a few strands of human hair can be worked into some a piece of beauty. These two items must of brought not just beauty but comfort to the original owner.