Jacqui brought some ebay bobbins to our attention, and it "sure enough", got my attention!!
Some time ago, I was contacted by a local museum about whether I could help them decipher the mysteries of "hair weaving". I happen to admire the curator of this museum, and because my own sister (who is an active member of their board) had recommended me, I felt obliged to explore the puzzle. As it turned out, the "mystery" was about the 19th century fashion of jewelry braided from the hair of a loved one. Initially, a "love token" made from one's own hair was the ultimate gift given to a betrothed or spouse. These tokens were broches, worn close to the heart, or earrings (or, if the wearer were male, the token might be a watch fob...) But unless, and until, the lovers were actually betrothed, the wearing of a love token of such intimacy was considered scandelous!! Originally, these pieces were happy things, given as love tokens. But then, the camera was invented, and a distant heart-throb could actually carry a likeness of the beloved!! So the hair-weaving "industry" fell on hard times, and re-invented itself as mourning jewelry. So when a loved one died, the "best" way to keep them close to your heart was to wear jewelry fashioned from their hair. And as the Victorian mourning fashion was quite explicit, wearing dark hair jewelry was entirely appropriate. So the extent to which hair weavers worked was quite remarkable!! The way I was drawn in was that it became clear that hair weaving was very similar to lacemaking - with the exception that the "fiber" was human hair instead of flax or cotton or silk. And in most cases, each "fiber" consisted of numerous strands of hair, bundled on one bobbin. Yes... bobbin. I learned that the hair was carefully bundled (it would take quite a few strands of hair which was quite long, to make a single bobbin's worth of hair), and then the bobbins were worked in what can be best described as "Kumihimo" (the Japanese art of cord braiding). My brief research told me that hair weaving initially began as a Swiss craft which had been borrowed from the east, and that it continues today. Now I have to confess... While the museum I was working with had gone to great lengths to commission a reproduction of a braiding table, and they had accumulated a considerable amount of human hair in lengths required for this craft through donations of "dear darlin's tresses", I had a bit of difficulty making the transition from lacemaking to human hair weaving. This was not a practical difficulty, it was a matter of ... well, for want of a more precise term... "heebie jeebies"!! It really bothered me that many years ago someone had cared enough about an individual to have lopped off her tresses after death in hopes of making a lovely bit of mourning jewelry because it was the fashion... and then long after either the "lopper" or the "loppee" had slipped beyond their mortal bounds, the tresses have come to my inept hands.... Well, to put it bluntly, I was just not "up to it!" !! They needed an ARTIST!! At best, I was just an anthropologist or a student... but not worthy of the cause. Hence, the "heebie jeebies". But back to the point... I believe that these weighted bobbins may have been made specifically for the purpose of hair weaving. They approximate the specifications described in the only book I'm aware of on this subject: "Collector's Encyclopedia of Hairwork Jewelry". It's a fascinating read... full of delightfully bizarre, grotesque, beautiful, macabre examples of victorian jewelry, and is by Jeanenne Belle. There is no ISBN. Published by Collector Books, Paducaah, KY. (Just in case you want to know more.) Also, in case you're interested, when I developed the exhibit that the museum was seeking, I used blonde hair, (can't even bear to imagine...) and attached it to some belgium bobbins which were weighted with lead weights purchased from K-Mart or some such place (in their fishing department!!) - in lieu of spangles. Well... that's what I knew. But the balance was correct for the purpose. I think that these bobbins with the lead weights within may have been used for the same purpose! And yes... in order to respond to a very brief message, I have outdone the most verbose of our esteemed contributors tonight!!! But, as the one enthusiastic hair weaving correspondant who wrote to me during my brief exploration with hair weaving wrote... "if you become a hair weaver, you'll be one of only 17 in the world!!". To which I thought "surely NOT!! ... even if I'm not enraptured, surely there must be many more...???" (And besides... if only 17 are involved, it's beyond statistical probability that 75% of them have their own websites!!!) Curious-er and curious-er.... Clay Clay Blackwell [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [Original Message] > From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[email protected]> > Date: 3/3/2005 4:14:58 PM > Subject: Re: [lace] Interesting ebay item > > In a message dated 03/03/2005 20:59:01 GMT Standard Time, > [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > > > Here are some interesting lace bobbins for sale. They > > look like they have lead weight inside. > > > > http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=945&item=6159496881&; > > rd=1 > > An idea of size or scale would be useful to tell if these are lace or weaving > - I suspect the latter for the sort of hanging warp weaving we have discussed > in the past regarding other very early possible "lace" bobbins. I have sent > a question to the seller asking for more information about this, soooo as they > say "Watch this space". > > Jacquie > > - > To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: > unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to > [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
