Victorian Double Portrait Mourning Locket – Antique Brass Memorial Locket c.1890

Victorian Double Portrait Mourning Locket – Antique Brass Memorial Locket c.1890

An atmospheric Victorian double-sided mourning or remembrance locket, dating from the late 19th century and still containing two original period photographic portraits of different young men.

The oval locket opens from either side, with each portrait protected beneath its original-style glazed cover. The identities of the two gentlemen have unfortunately been lost to time, as has the story of why their portraits were kept together. This surviving pair gives the locket a particularly poignant and intriguing character.

The brass case has attractive engine-turned decoration, with an ornate foliate design and blank shield-shaped cartouche to the front. It retains a substantial suspension loop for attaching to a chain.

The locket has been left in its genuine antique condition and has not been heavily polished or restored. There is surface wear, tarnishing, discolouration and areas of verdigris consistent with its considerable age. The photographs and glazing likewise show age-related wear, all of which can be seen in the photographs.

Although very much in the tradition of Victorian mourning and memorial jewellery, there is no inscription or other provenance confirming the original purpose of the locket, so it may alternatively have been kept as a sentimental remembrance piece.

Date: Late Victorian, circa 1880–1900
Material: Brass / gilt brass
Contents: Two different antique photographic portraits
Style: Mourning, memorial or sentimental jewellery
Condition: Genuine antique condition with wear, tarnishing, verdigris and deterioration commensurate with age. Please study the photographs carefully as they form an important part of the description.

A fascinating survivor of the Victorian era, made especially compelling by the two unidentified gentlemen whose photographs have remained inside for well over a century.