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Open the museum's jewellery box and find out about the fascinating stories these objects tell.
Wedgwood and jewellery
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Chatelaine
Theme
This piece of jewellery is not very familiar to modern eyes. It is called a chatelaine and originally it was designed to substitute the missing pockets in a women’s dress. Useful household items such as sewing tools, scissors, a coin purse, a clock key, a scent bottle, seals and not to forget the keys of the house were hooked to a series of chains which suspended from a decorative hook or clasp to be attached to the waistband. ‘Chatelaine’ was also the name for the lady of the house – she was the keeper of the keys and therefore a person of authority.
Over the course of time this accessory became more and more elaborate and developed into a type of jewellery in its own right. Chatelaines were made from precious metals such as silver or gold, but as well from pinchbeck - an alloy of copper and zinc to resemble gold - silver plate or cut steel.
This chatelaine mainly consists of two sets of chains suspended from two oval-shaped double-sided blue and white jasper medallions. They are mounted in cut steel frames and the chains themselves are decorated with beads of cut steel. The hook to attach it to the waistband is covered by a plaque elaborately engraved with two cornucopias.
The first jasper medallion features on the one side Fortuna and other side Hygeia. Three beaded chains connect it to the second jasper medallion and two other chains hold a miniature decorative padlock and a watch key, on hooks. The second jasper medallion features Hope and on the other side again Fortuna.
Five beaded chains of different lengths are attached, the longest holding a cut steel mount for a now lost eyeglass. The two outer chains both hold seals. One is in the shape of a six-lobed leaf, a form often found in gothic architecture. The seal features the letter S in a shell-ornamented frame. The other seal is shaped like a harp with the strings represented by small threaded cut steel beads; the actual seal was never engraved in the plate.
One of the two other chains holds a pear-shaped scent bottle for perfume or smelling salts, the other hook is empty to receive the key of the tea caddy. Tea was a very valuable commodity in the eighteenth century and the mistress of the house carrying this key would prevent any servant being tempted to try this exclusive and expensive beverage.
Catalogue
This chatelaine is decorated with two doubled-sided oval jasper medallions. It is made of several strings of cut steel beads and features useful pendants such as seals, a watch key or an eyeglass. Chatelaines were worn by the mistress of the house on her waistband and developed into a type of jewellery of its own rights over the course of time.
Glossary
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Cornucopia
Cornucopia
A horn of plenty - usually overflowing with fruit, vegetables or floral decoration.
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Cut-steel
Cut-steel
Cut-steel is a jewellery technique that was very popular especially in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century England. This was a time when jewellery was increasingly dominated by diamonds rather than more colourful gems. Cut-steel was used to imitate the shine and sparkle of diamonds, but nevertheless it gradually became so popular, that even people who would have been able to afford “real” diamonds - kings, queens and nobles all over Europe - wore Cut-steel instead.
Thin sheets of metal, often low-grade silver alloy, brass or even tin were cut into the requested shape. This sheet then was pierced and densely covered with studs, which were riveted at the back of the sheet to fasten them. For more complicated designs, several base-sheets were made and then assembled by means of little girders of metal. Later pieces were not made from individually cut rivets but rather stamped from a sheet.
Originally the material was obtained by collecting old horse-shoe nails, which literally, littered the streets at that time. These were melted down and small bars were re-formed, out of which the studs were cut and then polished.
In 1765 Matthew Boulton, close friend to Josiah Wedgwood, erected his factory for metalwork in Soho, Birmingham. Amongst his most successful products were mounts he made for small Wedgwood items, which were decorated with Cut-steel. These items mostly, jasper ware, were perfectly suitable for jewellery like necklaces, earrings and bracelets but as well for more useful accessories like buckles, girdle-clasps, buttons or chatelaines.
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Fortuna
Fortuna
The Roman goddess of fortune. She is often depicted holding a cornucopia - a horn of plenty usually represented in art as over-flowing with fruit and flowers.
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Hope
Hope
In Greek mythology Hope is very closely related to the myth of Pandora. Pandora was the first woman and her name means 'all-gifted'. She was presented with many seductive gifts such as beauty, musical talent, curiosity, wantonness, charm, and enchanting speech. Furthermore she was given a jar containing all the evils of mankind, which she was forbidden to open. When she opened this jar out of curiosity, all evils escape except for Hope. World becomes a dreary place but Pandora gets the chance to open the jar once more and releases Hope into the world.
In Christian tradition Hope is one of the three theological virtues complemented by Faith and Love. One of her attributes is an anchor.
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Hygeia
Hygeia
In Greek and Roman mythology Hygeia is known as the goddess of health. She is the daughter of Aesculapius the god of medicine. She is often represented as a virgin in a long robe feeding a serpent from a cup.
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Jasper
Jasper
A fine-grained stoneware body developed by Josiah Wedgwood I in the mid 1770s, and the ceramic ware most associated with the name. The most famous colour combination known today is the traditional blue and white, which is usually decorated with classical bas reliefs.
With changes in architectural styles and the rise in popularity of neo-classical styles of interior decoration Josiah Wedgwood began a series of experiments to create a new ceramic material that would complement the new fashions. Thousands of meticulously recorded experiments were carried out to make a stoneware body that was capable of taking a mineral oxide stain throughout. The search for the jasper body absorbed much of Wedgwood's energy and time, the result being his most important contribution to ceramic history.
The majority of the actual trials were carried out between December 1772 and December 1774, Josiah writing on the 17 March of the latter year: ‘have for some time past been reviewing my experiments, & I find such Roots, such Seeds as would open & branch out wonderfully if I could nail myself down to the cultivation of them for a year or two'.
By January 1775 he was ‘absolute' in the production of jasper with coloured grounds. He was also in a position to advertise that he could manufacture bas reliefs, ranging from large plaques to small cameos for mounting as jewellery. The range of colours steadily increased, and by March 1776 Josiah was sending his first specimens of yellow to London. By September experiments were in hand for black jasper. Certainly by Spring of 1777 he was carrying out further experiments to perfect a surface ‘dip' to provide deeper coloured grounds for his cameos; and by the middle of December 1777, he was able to offer Bentley a choice of ‘Green - yellow - lalock [lilac] etc. to the colour of the rooms', referring to the tones favoured by their mutual acquaintance the architect Robert Adam.
