Hair souvenirs – jewellery, embroidered pictures and cut hair – as a sign of family and friendship relationships

The custom of keeping cut hair or making various objects from it is a very ancient tradition. However, it was not until the 19th century, with its love of collecting souvenirs, that such practices developed to hitherto unknown proportions. Objects made from hair were a sign of friendship, family and love relationships. It was fashionable to make jewellery from hair: rings, bracelets, chains. This had many emotional meanings: an object was created that showed the bonds between people who were close but separated from each other – through a life situation or the death of one of them.
The second type of objects made from hair were landscapes, genre scenes and decorative monograms embroidered with it. In addition to the hair, which was given the form of an artistic object, real, unprocessed hair cut off from a loved one was kept. This could be the hair of people who were still alive, however, strands of hair cut off moments after someone’s death were of particular importance.
The text describes hair memorabilia (both existing and those known only from literature) associated with Fryderyk Chopin, their significance in the composer’s social and family relationships and the wider context of the creation of such objects.