Italian, Venice
Locket with Lock of Robert Browning's Hair, 1889
Gold and moonstone locket holding human hair, 1.5 x 1.5 cm (9/16 x 9/16 in.)
This is a gold and moonstone locket that contains a lock of English poet and playwright, Robert Browning’s hair. The locket consists of a band of gold in which the blueish-green moonstone has been set. The gold setting is flat on the bottom and has a rolled edge that snuggly holds the stone in place. A round gold ring is fixed to the edge; another round gold ring dangles from the fixed ring. The inscription along the side of the setting reads, "Robert Browning. Asolo October 1889", suggests that Mrs. Gardner had the locket specially designed to hold the poet’s hair.
Long Gallery
Commentary
In addition to collecting manuscripts and books belonging to favorite writers, Isabella Stewart Gardner acquired other evocative mementos. The inscriptions upon the locket indicate that she designed it to hold the poet’s hair. As an avid reader of contemporary poetry, Gardner admired Browning’s work and displayed this keepsake in the Long Gallery alongside other objects associated with major British authors.