Tiny Treasures

In our collection at Agecroft Hall & Gardens, we have a tiny artifact that does not get out of collections storage much due to its small size. It is a bodkin and is about five inches long, very thin, and made of silver. This small piece is a blunt needle-like object used for making holes in cloth or for sewing with ribbon. It is particularly helpful in making a tussie-mussie. Bodkins were oftentimes attached by a chain to a chatelaine, a handy device worn at the waist that had chains to connect small things—keys, scissors, bodkins, etc. Bodkins were also very handy as hairpins and, many times, used to scrape out earwax.

Agecroft Hall's Bodkin

Our piece has a tapered stem, is engraved on both sides, and ends in a hand clutching a heart. The engravings have been altered at some point during its life, but it appears to say “I.P.-Vertu-Passeth + Riches” on one side and the initials “M.A” and “E.B” on the other side. This was probably originally intended as a gift, marked by the small heart.