Victorian Black Enameled Oval Locket with Seed Pearls in Star Motif
This striking Victorian-era oval locket, carved from richly polished black enamel, exemplifies the solemn elegance and symbolic depth of 19th-century mourning and sentimental jewelry. Centered on the front is an exquisite eight-point celestial star, delicately set with natural seed pearls, creating a luminous contrast against the deep, velvety black ground. The star motif held powerful meaning in Victorian visual language, symbolizing guidance, eternity, divine light, and remembrance. In the context of mourning jewelry, such celestial imagery was often understood as a metaphor for the departed soul—transformed, eternal, and watching from above. The use of pearls (tears, purity, devotion) reinforces this deeply emotional symbolism.
Opening the locket reveals original fabric-lined interior compartments, preserved within finely fitted gold frames. These compartments were intended to hold intimate keepsakes such as a miniature portrait, lock of hair, or written memento—objects meant to remain unseen by the world yet ever present to the wearer. The locket retains its original hinge, closure, and bail, with proportions and craftsmanship indicative of mid-to-late Victorian production. The polish of the enamel, the precision of the star setting, and the survival of the interior linings together place this piece among the finer examples of its type.
Curated by Ma Couronne, this locket stands not merely as jewelry, but as a portable memorial object—a work of art created to transform grief into beauty and memory into permanence. It is a rare and evocative survivor of the Victorian language of love, loss, and celestial hope.
Purchased at an Exeter UK auction.
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