Mourning brooch
Jewellery
Inventory number
2021.7.6.6.JW.BC.C1870.GBDescription
Large round brooch in vulcanite embellished with a cameo representing a high relief portrait of a woman, looking down with her eyes closed, surrounded with a frame of circular bead shapes.Often called "ebonite", vulcanite was the mass-produced rival to actual jet. Vulcanite is a type of vulcanized rubber formed by combining sulfur and India rubber, then heating the mixture for several hours. Charles GOODYEAR is credited with developing the process, which he patented in 1844.
Materials
VulcaniteBrass
Origin
circa 1870 England, United KingdomDimensions
Length : 6 cmHeight : 6 cm