Memorial Scene

This impressive memorial picture is worked almost entirely in hair, with details painted in watercolor. Beneath a weeping willow tree is a tomb decorated with pearls and chopped hair designs. It is inscribed P L H / overleden / 20 novr 1840. Underneath an evergreen tree is a plaque inscribed H M P / overleden / 1 decem / 1837. The use of the Dutch word overleden (died) suggests that the piece may have been produced in The Netherlands or for a member of an expatriate Dutch community.

The evergreen was a common motif used to represent everlasting life. At the upper right is a butterfly, which is a symbol of resurrection and rebirth. On the ground interspersed with forget-me-nots are an hourglass and a scythe, traditional symbols of the passage of time and mortality.