{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O78627"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O78627/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006AL4008/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006AL4008/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2006AL4008","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2006AL3996","copyright":"©Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":{"_iiif_pres":"https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O78627/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O78627","accessionNumber":"M.65-1974","objectType":"Necklace","titles":[],"summaryDescription":"<b>Object Type</b><br>Jet jewellery, such as this necklace of carved and faceted beads, was fashionable in 19th century and could be worn both in and out of mourning. <i>The Queen</i> magazine observed in 1892 that 'a superabundance of jewellery is in especially bad taste at seasons of mourning', but that 'a few trinkets...must be worn, if only to accentuate the general sombreness of the costume'. Only a small proportion of jet jewellery was probably made specifically for mourning.<br><br><b>Materials & Making</b><br>Jet is a fossilised wood, a black variety of brown coal or lignite found in many countries. The seams of jet in the area around Whitby in Yorkshire are of high quality.<br><br><b>Trading</b><br>Workshops in Whitby turning and carving jet ornaments grew from 2 shops employing 25 people in 1832 to 200 employing 1500 people in 1872. Estimates of the annual turnover in 1872 ranged from œ88,000 to œ100,000. The largest firms had branches in London and Birmingham as well as Whitby. The success of jet jewellery was founded on the growth in tourism, on royal patronage and on the change in fashion in the 1850s and 1860s to heavier fabrics, which were well suited to relatively large items of jewellery.<br><br>","physicalDescription":"","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Unknown","id":"A1848"},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[],"techniques":[],"materialsAndTechniques":"Carved jet","categories":[{"text":"Jewellery","id":"THES48930"},{"text":"Europeana Fashion Project","id":"THES265804"},{"text":"Death","id":"THES48970"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"MET","id":"THES48599"},"images":["2006AL4008","2006AL3996"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"125B (VA)","id":"THES49893"},"free":"","case":"CA1","shelf":"","box":"16"}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Necklace","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Whitby","id":"x34400"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":"probably"}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"ca. 1875","earliest":"1870-01-01","latest":"1879-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Given by Miss B. L. Edmundson","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Length","value":"48","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"open","note":""},{"dimension":"Diameter","value":"30","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"clasped","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"Dimensions checked: measured; 19/12/1998 by sf","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"Probably made in Whitby, North Yorkshire, or its surrounding area","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Mourning jewellery","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[{"text":"British Galleries:\nMOURNING JEWELLERY<br>\nThe strict observance of mourning during the reign of Queen Victoria led to an increased demand for black jewellery. The most expensive items were made of onyx or enamelled gold, but there was also a large market for cheaper  jewellery made of jet, bog oak and glass. Lockets or brooches often contained hair from the deceased.","date":{"text":"27/03/2003","earliest":"2003-03-27","latest":"2003-03-27"}}],"partNumbers":["M.65-1974"],"accessionNumberNum":"65","accessionNumberPrefix":"M","accessionYear":1974,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":["2019LN0714","2019LN3913","2019LR2595","2019LU4061"],"recordModificationDate":"2025-04-25","recordCreationDate":"2003-03-27","availableToBook":false}}