Hair Museums: Unique Displays of Art
In the nineteenth century, during the Victorian era, people devised a way to retain the memory of their loved ones. Because this was long before cameras were even invented, they came up with something unique—hair art. It started with the English and the French, and eventually, the Americans caught up with it as well. Today, galleries pay tribute to this ingenuity by exhibiting large collections of locks, with some of them even adorned with medallions, paintings, lockets, rings, bracelets, and necklaces.
There are two famous places devoted to these artworks:
LEILA’S HAIR MUSEUM
Missouri, USA
Open for public viewing every day, this has huge displays that date back to the 1800s. Its founder, to whom the institution is named after, is a cosmetologist who considers collecting to be her life’s passion. This fascination started when she was still a child. Her collection was moved to a bigger venue when she ran out of space for such items in her school.
To date, she owns 159 wreaths and more than 2,000 jewellery pieces, the oldest of which is a 1680 brooch. Still, some are more than one hundred years old. Among the strange ones are paintings that have the hair of deceased babies. You will likewise find entries from famous people, such as Jenny Lind, Aaron Burr, Daniel Webster, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Elvis Presley.
HAIR MUSEUM OF AVANOS
Cappadocia, Turkey
Originally, this town was renowned for its high-quality earthenware, which are moulded from the Red River’s mineral-rich mud. Recently, it has received worldwide attention for its unique locks gallery, which was created through the great skills of Chez Galip, a Turkish potter.
The establishment is found under a pottery shop. Its ceilings, walls, and surfaces, other than the floor, are all covered with women’s tresses with pieces of paper containing their addresses.
Some say that this idea of collecting tresses started in 1979. Its initial purpose was to encourage course participation. Still, others claim that it began when a Galip was saddened by the departure of his friend from Avanos. To leave a remembrance, the girl left him a piece of her hair. Since then, women from all over the world come to this place to leave theirs.
It has earned its rightful place in the Guiness Book of Records, with over sixteen thousand examples and addresses. It has become a tradition for the gallery to pick ten from those and let the donors participate in workshops and reward them with a free stay in its guesthouse.
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