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Historian Tanzy Ward Pens Book on Black Victorians’ Jewelry
The antique jewelry dealer talks about the importance of including Black Americans in jewelry history and preserving their stories.
Tanzy Ward released her third book, “Precious Black Jewels: The Bijou Material Culture of Black Victorians & Edwardians,” earlier this year.
New York—Tanzy Ward, an antique jewelry dealer and preservationist, has an untold story to share in her new book honoring Black jewelry culture in America.
“Precious Black Jewels: The Bijou Material Culture of Black Victorians & Edwardians” invites readers to look through portraits of Black people from those eras, which span 1837-1910, to get a better understanding of their jewelry style.
Ward’s research focuses in part on integrating Black Victorians into the history of antique jewelry through authentic representation.
“Despite enduring inaccurate caricatures and stereotypes, they appeared for portraits in elegant adornments that reflected their individuality, taste, and sentimental symbolism,” she writes in her synopsis of the book.
In her line of work, Ward spends a lot of time looking through antique jewelry catalogs.
“I noticed there was a lack of representation of Black people, Black Victorians in particular, and the different styles they wore,” she said in an interview with National Jeweler in late February.
“So, I thought this would be a great opportunity to not only [write] an antique [jewelry] identification book, but also to emphasize the Black Victorian material culture.”
Ward also is the author of “Hidden Legacies: African Presence in European Antiques” and “Unsung Portraits: Anonymous Images of Black Victorians & Early 20th Century Ancestors.”
“When I started collecting and preserving Black ancestral photos, I noticed there were so many beautiful photos where our Black ancestors had beautiful jewelry,” Ward said.
“They had good quality jewelry in that era. It was an era of high craftsmanship and Black Victorians were definitely a part of that.”
People often think of England when they think of the Victorian time period, but the styles inspired by Queen Victoria traveled to America too, she noted. Mourning jewelry, like memento mori pieces and photographic pins, was popular with Americans of all racial backgrounds.
“[Black people] wore beautiful jewelry too. They honored their loved ones with keepsakes. They had sweetheart bracelets and photographic brooches and beautiful scarf pins,” Ward said.
“Precious Black Jewels: The Bijou Material Culture of Black Victorians & Edwardians” invites readers to look through portraits of Black people from those eras, which span 1837-1910, to get a better understanding of their jewelry style.
Ward’s research focuses in part on integrating Black Victorians into the history of antique jewelry through authentic representation.
“Despite enduring inaccurate caricatures and stereotypes, they appeared for portraits in elegant adornments that reflected their individuality, taste, and sentimental symbolism,” she writes in her synopsis of the book.
In her line of work, Ward spends a lot of time looking through antique jewelry catalogs.
“I noticed there was a lack of representation of Black people, Black Victorians in particular, and the different styles they wore,” she said in an interview with National Jeweler in late February.
“So, I thought this would be a great opportunity to not only [write] an antique [jewelry] identification book, but also to emphasize the Black Victorian material culture.”
Ward also is the author of “Hidden Legacies: African Presence in European Antiques” and “Unsung Portraits: Anonymous Images of Black Victorians & Early 20th Century Ancestors.”
“When I started collecting and preserving Black ancestral photos, I noticed there were so many beautiful photos where our Black ancestors had beautiful jewelry,” Ward said.
“They had good quality jewelry in that era. It was an era of high craftsmanship and Black Victorians were definitely a part of that.”
People often think of England when they think of the Victorian time period, but the styles inspired by Queen Victoria traveled to America too, she noted. Mourning jewelry, like memento mori pieces and photographic pins, was popular with Americans of all racial backgrounds.
“[Black people] wore beautiful jewelry too. They honored their loved ones with keepsakes. They had sweetheart bracelets and photographic brooches and beautiful scarf pins,” Ward said.
Many people’s understanding of eras gone by is shaped by movies and television series set in the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Rarely do these stories feature people of color.
However, the popular Netflix series “Bridgerton” has challenged this norm, employing a diverse cast of characters in the show, which is set in the Regency era of the early 1800s.
“I think it’s amazing that shows like that are getting more people interested in Black stories from other centuries that we definitely need to emphasize. And then that can also lead people to be more interested in Black Victorian material culture and the accurate portrayals of Black Americans,” said Ward.
To give people a historically accurate view, historians like Ward need primary sources.
“Each generation should have a gatekeeper to make sure that we preserve our ancestral material culture and stories,” she said.
Since Ward specializes in antique jewelry, she knows where to look for these sources, but that doesn’t mean the information is always easy to find, particularly biographical details.
It can be hard to say who is pictured in a photographic brooch, for instance.
Ward spends a lot of time in the field seeking out these special pieces and, sometimes, uncovers a real treasure.
She recalled coming across a ceremonial badge worn by a member of the first Black church in Greensboro, Georgia. Popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, ceremonial badges were created for fraternal organizations and churches, and often used for funerals or other important occasions.
“When you think about that type of history, who it belonged to, who they were celebrating and honoring, that’s a lot to unpack, especially during that era when it comes to Black people and their struggles. And just normal things that every human deals with, like honoring their loved ones.”
Some pieces still elude her, like a hairwork jewelry piece with a Black person’s hair, she said, but the search continues.
While it may seem like there are few specialists in her field, there may be more out there than one would think, Ward said.
“A lot of people who don’t call themselves historians specialize in this too,” she said. “The research starts in the field at home with people and their collection and their stories, because that’s how historians get their information.”
“People have a lot of beautiful material culture and family heirlooms in their collections at home, and they may not even realize where it came from or how significant it is.”
Tanzy Ward’s books, which retail from $35 to $38, are available for purchase on the Zanathia Jewelry website.
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