Wakelin and Taylor Pocket Watch

Pocket watch and chatelaine owned by the novelist Fanny Burney; silver gilt with white/light blue/translucent dark blue enamel made by the silversmith's Wakelin and Taylor. The back has a circle of split pearls containing woven hair of the royal princesses, daughters of Queen Charlotte who gave the watch to Fanny Burney; fob seal with mauve glass engraved pansy 'A VOUS'; presentation was probably made when Fanny Burney retired from her post as Second Keeper of the Wardrobe in 1791. It shows signs of wear, especially the enamel of the keys and the chain is defective; Fanny Burney mentions finding the watch undamaged when she returned to Parkis after leaving hurriedly in 1815.