In Death Lamented features rings, bracelets, brooches, and other
pieces of mourning jewelry from the 17th, 18th, and 19th
centuries, ranging from early gold bands with death’s head
iconography to jeweled brooches and intricately woven hairwork
pieces of the Civil War era. These elegant and evocative objects
are presented in the context of their history, use, and meaning,
alongside related pieces of material culture. Drawn from the
collections of the MHS and Guest Curator Sarah Nehama as well as
loans from the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Historic New
England in Boston, and the Adams National Historical Park in
Quincy, exhibition highlights include the Adams-Winthrop
commemorative seal ring containing the braided hair of John
Quincy Adams and a gold memorial ring for Queen Caroline of
Brandenburg-Ansbach. A full-color companion book, In Death
Lamented: The Tradition of Anglo-American Mourning Jewelry,
available for sale at the MHS, features photographs and
descriptions of all of the Nehama and MHS pieces, al