From around the 1400's...hair art? Wow!
By JenInTN
@JenInTN (27514)
United States
December 26, 2011 5:45am CST
I was watching this show the other day called "Oddities" and it's about a store that specializes in odd antiques and such. Anyway..there was woman come in the store that was interested in a "painting" for her new house. Well..it seems the painting that she wanted was not a painting at all. It was done from human hair! Apparently from around the 1400's-1800's it was common for families to take locks of hair from different family members and create wreaths and artwork from them. There might be 10 or more generations of hair from a family in one piece of art! It was mentioned that it was a way they tracked their genealogy back then...the names are sometimes listed on the back of the artwork!! I did some research to try and get you all an example and although the piece I found to share with you is nowhere near as neat as what I saw on the show, it is still pretty amazing. Did you know about this form of art? Will you try and see if your family has a piece in this line of history? This might open a path for those interested in genealogy to dig a little deeper. Would you have one of these pictures in your house or does it sound too weird?
6 people like this
10 responses
@allknowing (153529)
• India
26 Dec 11
With the kind of drift that we notice and the increased disinterest to stay connected I wonder if those kind of artefacts that you have mentioned would attract any one. To give you an example, we all get excited and invest in videos and photographs of events that are ostensibly dear to us but after a while they just collect dust. I had this mania for collecting 'memories' but with the kind of dampened interest, the 'posterity'factor needs to be looked at, again.
4 people like this
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
26 Dec 11
Yes..things do often come and go. The thing is that these are apparently worth quite a bit of money now because most of these are family heirlooms. I bet there are even people out there that have them and have no idea the contribution it is to the history of a family! I wouldn't mind to have one of my own family but I think it would be creepy to have someone else's..lol.
Thanks for the response!
2 people like this
@allknowing (153529)
• India
26 Dec 11
If they belong to famous families they sure do have a value but my thought was going towards creating artefacts from hair belonging to our own family members which I feel will have little or no sentimental value in this materialistic world. Just a thought.
3 people like this
@oscarbartoni (2581)
• United States
28 Dec 11
I saw that episode and many others. that is some really odd art and it woud make some really odd jewelry such as earrings. I use bones, teeth, claws and other animal; parts in earrings. Of course, I am Native American and we try to use as much of an animal as we can. We do not try to throw away anything from an animal. I also use sharks jaws in dream catchers and plan on using turtle shells in dream catchers as well.I have a deer skin pouch that I use for taking things to "trade blankets" during pow wows. Another thing tha I have (I traded for this at a pow wow) is a bear skin head and paws attached that I put over my head fo rpart of my regalia.
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
29 Dec 11
You sound like an amazing artist! I have always had a great love in the way the Native Americans never waste what they take from the land. I live very close to a reservation and I love going there a couple of times a year and looking at their art. I love the fact that they keep so much history alive.
Take care and thanks for the response.
2 people like this
@CatsandDogs (13963)
• United States
28 Dec 11
No, can't say that I've heard of it before and no, I don't think I'd have it in my house. It's a little too creepy for me however, to someone else it might be a treasure. You know, hubby and I couldn't have kids so I've often wondered what will come of our things once we're gone and I think I know where some will end up especially our pictures. They'll probably end up on some bar wall or some resturant wall just like there's other hundred year old pictures hanging up now. (rolling my eyes) What a way to be remembered!
3 people like this
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
29 Dec 11
I think I would be ok with it if it were my own family's heirloom but I'm not so sure if I would be comfortable if it were someone elses. They weren't made with the intention of leaving the family..you know? I am weird about stuff sometimes though..lol.
Maybe you could think of somewhere you would want your things to be. Maybe you could will it to an organization or even someone that you have in your life that would cherish and appreciate it. Lately I have been thinking I'm not leaving my children a thing anyway..LOL...j/k..but the thought has crossed my mind a couple of times.
2 people like this
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
26 Dec 11
Good morning. Jenn, hope u had a good holiday. I have heard of this but do not have any of it, i wish i did.U are talking 'stuff' right up my ally, lol.HAPPY NEW YEAR.
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
26 Dec 11
I collect silhottes , i had forgotten a friend of mine picked me up one when she lived in chicago & they told her the background to the picture was hair. I mentioned it on ebay one time when i was selling things on there & some guy said it probably wasn't haie was probably seeweed so don't know for sure it is hair but it does look like hair.i didn't think about it when we were talking earlier.
2 people like this
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
27 Dec 11
Oh wow! You may have one of these pieces Jo! There were various types of pictures done with the hair..not just the wreaths I linked the first response to. The one I saw one the show was actually a castle scene and in the background a detailed boat. You should look on the back of your picture and see if there are any names. It can still be authentic even if there isn't any though..they expected the pictures to stay in the family once they did them. Hmm...interesting!
2 people like this
@celticeagle (189917)
• Boise, Idaho
28 Dec 11
I do enjoy Oddities. I saw that episode also. They are amazing! The time spent on such things as aposed to how fast things go now days is simply amazing too. Who would have the time to do such a thing now days?! I think I might have one in my house. It would be a real conversation piece.
@celticeagle (189917)
• Boise, Idaho
29 Dec 11
I was thinking that same exact thing while I was watching the show.
2 people like this
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
29 Dec 11
I like watching it too! There are some things in there that I just have to say ewww but there are those like that hair art that are amazing. It would be a conversation piece for sure. I don't know how comfortable I would be about one that wasn't my own family's hair though..I'm funny about stuff like that I guess..lol.
2 people like this
@thesids (22180)
• Bhubaneswar, India
26 Dec 11
Hi JenInTN
Sounds like a great gift for the Christmas... I feel this is a great way to maintain the "genealogy". It reminds me of my cousin sister some 14 years back when she was just a kid, she used to collect hair samples, nail samples into a file of hers. Not sure about any r-incarnation of one of those in our family but at time, we all thought that this was crazy of her... But now after reading this I am not any more thinking that it was crazy of her... Maybe she really had some belief.
Personally, thinking to start this in my age would not be welcome by many but If Was an artiste... it would have been a great idea
Sounds like a great gift for the Christmas... I feel this is a great way to maintain the "genealogy". It reminds me of my cousin sister some 14 years back when she was just a kid, she used to collect hair samples, nail samples into a file of hers. Not sure about any r-incarnation of one of those in our family but at time, we all thought that this was crazy of her... But now after reading this I am not any more thinking that it was crazy of her... Maybe she really had some belief.
Personally, thinking to start this in my age would not be welcome by many but If Was an artiste... it would have been a great idea3 people like this
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
26 Dec 11
It is quite odd to think of the collecting but perhaps she was an artist with a vision too. I have found that it was very popular for families to do this type of art back then and it did offer them a way to trace their lineage. I think it would be neat to run across one that my family did but I think it would be odd to own it if it belonged to another family...lol.
Thanks for the response Thesids!
Oh..I wasn't able to get the picture to post but I did post a link to an example of the art in the first response here if you would like to see one. Take care.
Oh..I wasn't able to get the picture to post but I did post a link to an example of the art in the first response here if you would like to see one. Take care.2 people like this
I hadn't thought of that.@thesids (22180)
• Bhubaneswar, India
26 Dec 11
The Photo in the link looks amazing. At one go, if I wasnt old that it was made of hair, I would have thought it was a great work of porcelain or anything else. Thanks for the link dear.
If it ran in the family, then of course, having someone out of the family on it would lead to confusions with the technology today
but then, we might have some more like - ex-husband or ex-wife(as they too were a part of the family sometime) or even an ex-boy/girlfriend - and mention their names on the back (as you mention on the discussion), to avoid confusions
but then, we might have some more like - ex-husband or ex-wife(as they too were a part of the family sometime) or even an ex-boy/girlfriend - and mention their names on the back (as you mention on the discussion), to avoid confusions2 people like this
@KrauseHome (36445)
• United States
31 Dec 11
Wow!! I have never heard of this one yet. It would be interesting to see I am sure. Made out of different people's hair. Just wonder how you would do this and be able to preserve it? I think this would be an interesting show to see.
2 people like this
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
31 Dec 11
I have posted a few links on the first page of the discussion if you would like to see some examples. Apparently human hair does not decompose. They described it as sort of a weaving process. I can see that on some of the work but the one I saw on the show was a big picture and actually did look much like a painting or a print. Check out those links if you have time..they are amazing.
Thanks for responding.
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
5 Jan 12
Thanks for sharing those links, how fabulous! I've never heard of the show, but it sounds like something I would be interested in. I would have something like that in my house...I would be more inclined to have something that belonged to someone else rather than my own rellos.
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
5 Jan 12
They have some very "odd" antiques on there for sure..lol. It's interesting to see the things that people come in there looking for and what they actually find.
I thought it was an amazing way to keep up with their lineage for sure. I would have never thought of it but it does make me wonder about where the tradition of keeping a child's first lock of hair came from. Maybe it come from this type of art.
I'm glad you enjoyed it!
@pergammano (7682)
• Canada
6 Jan 12
Belated Happy New Year...dear Jen! My understanding of "hair art" from the those era's....evolved somewhat from saving "locks" of hair (baby's first hair cut--loved one's going off to war, etc.,) and they were being saved somewhat willy-nilly! A bright entrepreneur...developed the "locket" necklace as we know it today. Called locket as a "lock" of hair was saved in it! Then...in the lockets, artisan's created beautiful pictures with the lock of hair...and that evolved into "familial" locks saved...and another forward thinker created pictures with locks of hair from the whole family! 2012 Rainbow's...dear one!@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
6 Jan 12
Happy New Year my dear friend! How did the party go that has kept you a busy bee for days?
That is some amazing information! I actually thought that it might have been the ground for the tradition of saving a child's first cut lock but I hadn't thought about it's link to the locket! Amazing.
Thanks for sharing what you knew about it. I was amazed by the detail of this work and it's historical value.
1 person likes this
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
30 Dec 11
Wow! I had never heard of this kind of art. It's fascinating. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. It would not surprise me if any of my husband's family had done this sort of thing, but it would have been before my mil's time or I would have heard of it.
2 people like this
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
30 Dec 11
I had never heard of it either but apparently it was apparently "the thing to do" back then. They make jewelry too. I put a couple of links in the discussion beccause the day I posted I wasn't able to upload a picture for some reason.
I think it would be neat to have some that my family had done.
Thanks for the response.
1 person likes this
