Victorian Chatelaine and Agate Accessories Box

Truly, housework can be tedious. However, Victorian women, with their usual flair, found a way to look fabulous whilst completing the most mundane tasks. How, you say? With a household tool carrier/slash portable work of art—the chatelaine. The term derives from the French "lady of the castle," and in its original form is a belt hook worn by the lady of the castle, from which, you guessed it, the keys of the castle were suspended. As time progressed, women, whose clothing usually lacked pockets, used them to carry all sorts of items. This one, ornately hand-fabricated in gilded metal and beautifully patterned, variegated chocolate-colored agate in varying hues of brown, features a large clip for easy attachment to a belt and opens to reveal compartments for items such as scissors, a pocket knife, sewing accessories, or a pencil. And while you may have no need for such a receptacle, clipped to your belt, it is an utterly unique adornment and intriguing conversation piece. Note: one of the longer agates shows a horizontal hairline fissure.