During my discussions with the events personnel at the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, we discussed jewelry of course! They were looking for jewelry for the display of Mrs. Alice Hooper by John Singleton Copley within the Museum of the American Revolution - Yorktown. More information about Mrs. Hooper can be found here by Judy Anderson.
Mrs. Alice Hooper by John Singleton Copely, 1763 (Milwaukee Art Museum)
Creating the look that I wanted required some thought - especially using ready-made findings and vintage pieces. The necklace that Mrs. Hooper is wearing was possibly of garnets and paste, showing her social status and the common fashion of the 1760's. I have seen many imports of garnets in jewelry in my research, and wrote an article on 18th century necklaces which you can read here.
I have seen this necklace before on Mrs. Barnard Elliot by Jeremiah Theus, 1767. I was even able to find the photo of an original on the Rowan and Rowan website. It is really awesome to see a portrait, tie it to an actual piece for sale, and then try to recreate it to the best of my ability.
Original Garnet necklace circa 1770 via Rowan and Rowan
I decided to only do three strands of the garnet crystals for my reproduction. Having different size crystals made it a challenge to keep the same length when adding it to the center piece. Mrs. Hooper also required some earrings - of which I re-purposed a pair of 1950's rhinestone clip-on earrings for her. It simulates the paste clusters of the day.
1950's repurposed earrings made new
Mrs. Hooper mannequin
(Photo Courtesy of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation)
Within the final museum display
(Photo Courtesy of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation)
Mrs. Hooper's jewelry - Close-up - different from the Rowan and Rowan original and that of Mrs. Elliot - but a common design!
My interpretation of the center area
More of the necklace - with the repurposed pair of 1950's
earrings that I changed into leverback
Now to await the photos on Mrs. Hooper in Yorktown!
