A recurring theme in the records when accessories, especially jewelry, are mentioned, is sentiment.

A posy ring made by Thomas Horne, 1661-1691. The British Museum.

On 7 October 1668, the will of Captain Thomas Exton was entered in the liber in New York.
He left, to Richard Nicoll, the son of Mr. Matthias Nicoll, “my gold seale ring” and to Mrs. Anna Broadhead, the widow of Captain Daniel Broadhead, “a gold ring with the poesie on it ‘God’s Providence is our Inheritance.’”

 

The will of Mary Jansen, the widow of Govert Loockermans, filed in 1678, left several pieces of jewelry to her children and grandchildren, including a golden earring given to her by her grandmother, a diamond rose ring, and a “silver chain with a case and cushion.” This last piece, a chain with other items, like keys, scissors, or a pin cushion, attached, appears fairly often in the records. They might be called girdles or chatelaines, or simply ‘chaynes’. This accessory evolved from a practical object to a decorative one.

Hester Leisler, grandaughter of Mary Jansen, 1719.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the Rijksmuseum.

 

 

 

 

A brief note on Mary Jansen’s chatelaine.