Pendant

Mourning scenes became a popular device for jewelry in the late eighteenth century and into the nineteenth century. These depictions, instead of focusing on a remembrance that we all must die, a somewhat selfish thought, focus on the grief felt at a loved one’s passing and the personal relationship to that person. This particular scene is compelling, showing a mourning woman holding a heart above a flame set on a plinth, perhaps representing a passionate love. As the heart she holds is not yet on fire, it could show a heart sacrificed to grief. She stands under a cypress tree, another symbol of mourning.