Chatelaine with watch

ca. 1761

(not assigned)London, England

Silver gilt, gold, enamel, ivory, chalcedony, glass, paint

Container: 2 1/8 × 8 1/4 × 4 3/8 in. (5.4 × 21 × 11.1 cm)
Part (Chatelaine): 1 1/8 × 4 3/8 × 7 5/8 in. (2.9 × 11.1 × 19.4 cm)

Gift of Mrs. Edward Rutledge and daughters

1954.179a-d

The charms adorning this chatelaine commemorate love and loss. Henry Remsen, a wealthy New York City commission merchant, gave this chatelaine to his wife, Cornelia Dickenson, as a wedding present in 1761. An importer of dry and luxury goods, Remsen’s choice of wedding gift illustrates the strength of his business connections and sophisticated taste. Women wore chatelaines suspended from waist belts. The elaborate clips held small household implements, watches, and keys. Cornelia Remsen personalized her chatelaine with an ivory miniature of the couple’s fifth son, John Henry Remsen, who died in 1798 during New York’s yellow fever epidemic. The gold padlock contains a plait of hair, perhaps John Henry’s, and may have been added by descendants during the 19th century.

MarkingsEngraved reverse of hook: "Henry and Cornelia Remsen / M 28 Dec. 1761"; stamped on reverse of hook: "WB"; engraved on reverse of miniature: "John Henry Remsen / B 2 Aug. 1772 / D 15 Sept. 1798"

ProvenanceGiven to Cornelia Dickenson Remsen (1744-1816), who married Henry Remsen (1736-1792); to their daughter Sarah Remsen (1786-1871); to her niece Elizabeth Remsen Grafton (1824-1901); to her niece Amelia Schuchardt Stuyvesant (1839-1915); chatelaine (without watch) to her niece Julia Lawrence Wells (1868-1954) in 1891; watch purchased about 1915 by her mother Sarah Remsen Schuchardt (1841-1926) and returned to Julia Lawrence Wells; reunited chatelaine and watch to Lily Wells (Mrs. Edward Rutledge, 1873-1959), the donor.

ClassificationsJEWELRY

DescriptionSilver gilt chatelaine hook with three chased and embossed gold plaques connected by four chains; cast hook plate embossed with scene of Mars and Venus; plaque below with scene of putto; second plaque with scene of classical warrior seated in triumphal canopy; third plaque with putto; chains suspended from sides of hook plate with attached hinged and mounted bloodstone box, shield-shaped enameled gold "R" locket with woven hair enclosed, coral trumpet charm, gold and glass oculus locket with painted flower, and painted ivory miniature in gold case; watch in gold case suspended from bottom plaque. Reverse of watchcase has chased allegorical scene of a water god with a river goddess bearing flowers.Published ReferencesNew-York Historical Society, Perspectives on the Collections of the New-York Historical Society: The Henry Luce III Center for the Study of American Culture (New York: New-York Historical Society, 2000), 116.

Roberta J. M. Olson, "A selection of European paintings and objects," The Magazine Antiques 167 (2005), 182-187.

Margaret K. Hofer with Debra Schmidt Bach, Stories in Sterling: Four Centuries of Silver in New York (London: New-York Historical Society in association with D Giles Limited, 2011), 196-197.

Object NameChatelaine