Pin (Mourning stick pin)

Description

While rings of this period may have suited male mourners, other jewelry has been classified as distinctly masculine, such as stickpins (also known as cravat-pins). This memorial stickpin was made to remember the life of William Boyle. The head of this pin features a painted sepia miniature on ivory, a conventional female figure in classical dress. The figure leans against a Grecian-style pedestal. The ground of the painting is made of pieces of chopped-up human hair. The hair likely belonged to the person this pin sought to remember. The gold vertical pin has a serpentine-shaped shaft soldered to the underside of the face. On the reverse of the face, “W\..MBOYLE NAT:9 AUG\T 1763 OB\:T 13 MAR: 1783” is engraved.  This piece exemplifies many of the stylistic elements of this era––the sepia painting, the classical female mourner, the pedestal/urn, and the use of hair––combined in a sentimental expression of love.