CHATELAINE

The chatelaine, which means ‘mistress of the castle’ in French, became a visible sign of the Victorian woman’s domestic role as ‘keeper of the hearth’. The style of this example is reminiscent of its medieval predecessors, although the term chatelaine was not used for this type of adornment until the late 1820s. Hanging from this example are a thimble, a needle case, a lucky horseshoe charm, a pocket-watch winder, a stiletto, an acorn-shaped pincushion and a ball containing a silk tape-measure.