Historic Northampton


Virtual Exhibits

About Shaped Hair Forms

Shaped Hair Forms

Woven hair could also be formed into shapes by pressing it around a shape; the hair would become stiff from the applied gum and would retain the formed shape. The two most common shapes of hair jewelry in the collection are the tube shape and the acorn. The acorn probably originated as an English hairwork motif; oak is England's national wood and the acorn was another popular national symbol. The resulting shapes are stiff and lightweight; they also add variation to the wearer's hair wardrobe. These are shapes that would have been known to hairworkers through The Jewellers Book of Patterns in Hair Work.

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