15/05/2026
Another spring clean find! A late Victorian English sterling silver chatelaine, c.1890s, with a figural top hallmarked for London silver and decorated with a female figure, and a chain made from tiny grotesque mascaron faces inspired by Renaissance decorative art.
Remarkably, its original period accessories still survive together. Though the components were assayed in different cities - London and Birmingham, the lion passant hallmarks throughout, the consistent wear and cohesive aesthetic suggest the ensemble has remained intact for well over a century rather than being a recent assembled grouping.
• A spiralled silver vinaigrette or scent holder, hallmarked for Birmingham and likely by Deakin & Francis, still containing its original absorbent wool for perfume or aromatic vinegar.
• A velvet pin cushion for sewing pins - utterly lethal they are too.
• An aide mémoire with ivory or bone leaves for notes, shopping lists or dance cards.
• A fully hallmarked propelling pencil by Sampson Mordan & Co, one of the great Victorian pencil makers and pioneers of the mechanical pencil - it still has a pencil inside and the mechanism is fully working.
The chains themselves are formed from repeated mascaron links, giving the whole thing an almost Gothic Revival feel.
Part jewellery, part sewing kit, part portable organiser, essentially the Victorian equivalent of carrying your notebook, toolkit and handbag suspended from your waist.
Available. I haven’t polished or cleaned it beyond handling dust, so it still retains its original dark silver patina and oxidation throughout the recessed details. I’ll likely only give it a very light cloth polish unless a buyer specifically prefers a brighter full clean, as I personally love the contrast and age it’s developed over more than a century.
€1,650.
Victorian sterling silver chatelaine, antique silver chatelaine, S Mordan pencil, Deakin and Francis silver, neo Renaissance silver, Gothic Revival accessory, Victorian vinaigrette, antique sewing accessories
