Cloak pin, one of a pair

Date1785-1800

MediumBrass and iron

DimensionsDiam. 1"; L: 1 5/8".

Credit LineGift of the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities

Object number2004-117,1

DescriptionBrass headed cloak pin with threaded iron screwLabel TextA pair of wooden valance brackets (accession 2004-116, 1-2) was originally mounted near the top of each window at Elm Hill, a ca. 1800 plantation house built for Peyton Skipwith (son of Sir Peyton Skipwith) in Mecklenburg County, Virginia. The brackets were fastened the house frame with wrought nails before the walls were plastered. Brass cloak pins like those shown here (from the parlor) were then screwed into the chair rail near the bottom of each window. The pins were used for tying off the cord of the Venetian blinds or curtains that originally rested on the wooden brackets.Inscription(s)NoneMark(s)NoneProvenanceThe pins were removed from Elm Hill, Mecklenburg County, Virginia, during the 1980s while the house was in the custody of the APVA.