Ebonite locket

This jewel is a mold-made ebonite locket or photo frame, made around 1870. It is one of the pieces in the Barbera dels Aragonés Ebonite jewelry collection. 

The ebonite is a material created in 1839 by Charles Goodyear, it is a natural plastic that is obtained by hardening the rubber by mixing it with sulfur, a process known as "vulcanized". The advantage of this material is that it could be made by mold, which allowed its mass production, which made the pieces of ebonite cheaper, more varied and with finer decorations. 

This type of jewelry is highly valued in museums and antique shops for its scarcity. Not many have been preserved, firstly because they deteriorate easily, especially in light, which makes them ugly and discolored. Secondly, since it is not made of such a valuable material as jet, silver or gold, unfortunately, in many cases they have been discarded by the owners. 

This locket is decorated with a rose, a flower widely used to represent love and death. The open rose, like this one, symbolizes the death of an adult. Inside these small cases the photograph or a lock of hair of the deceased person was kept.

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Height: 35 mm; Length: 25 mm
Nº inv. Vilamuseu 008284