A few days ago i was watching a show on the Dutch television, called "Between art and kitsch", where people can show their "treasures" to some experts, and let them give their opinion about the value of the items. Off course there is quite a bit of trash people find in their attic, thinking that it's priceless stuff... But sometimes people come there with little gems.

One man showed an 18th century watch to an expert, that was quite a nice collection item. It was all gold with a few diamonds in the clock-hands, and it looked nice. But what immediatly attracted the attention of the expert was the chain that the watch was once attached to.

Well ladies and gentlemen, here the story begins to get interesting. It was a very strange but extremely beautiful piece of jewellery. I had never seen such an item before. The expert called it a "Chatelaine".

He explained that it was a decorative belt hook or clasp worn at the waist with a series of chains suspended from it. Each chain was mounted with a useful household appendage such as scissors, thimble, watch, key, vinaigrette, household seal, etc.

I looked it up at the infamous Wikipedia and found the following explanation. The name chatelaine derives from the French term chtelaine which meant the female owner, or wife of the owner, of a large house. Originally the chatelaine was designed to have all the tools necessary for the woman of the household to sort out any problem she may encounter in her day, like a fraying curtain. However, over time the chatelaine and the objects it held evolved from being a purely utilitarian object into a decorative symbol that reflected the status of the wearer. And yes, some of them seemed to be exclusive pieces of jewellery. In the 18th century, it was sometimes also called it an equipage,

Let me show you some nice examples:

Antique-Watch, c. 1750; cast gilt metal chatelaine with a chased and engraved representations of musical instruments. Gilt clip buckle suspending three further oval cartouches and two short chains. Swivel latches with hinge and threaded safety ring. Suspended from the chains a gilt and rock crystal swivel seal, silver gilt hinged glazed locket and a cast silver Madonna and child.

Louvre OA8394, a gold watch and chatelaine covered in roses, Paris, 1750-1752

Malmaison N.104, the chatelaine of Empress Josephine, end of the 18th century.

To conclude i show you a nice painting from an unknown French 18th century artist, depicting "Two ladies, one holding a fan and the other a rose" At their belt you can clearly see their chatelaines.

I do hope you enjoyed this little article, about an artifact that i had never heared of, but seemed to be very common in our beloved 18th century.

With sincere greeting, Dr. P. Panacek, War Surgeon.