In search of En Esclavage

For a college course this summer, I studied the history of jewelry. My textbook was the book, Jewelry: From Antiquity to the Present by Clare Phillips. It was a relatively easy read, but did not illustrate all of the foreign or obscure terms. I sure this was due to budgetary concerns. One term that was on our test but not in the book (I think) was the phrase, En Esclavage. It was presented as a type of necklace with a removable pendant as in the picture below.

After further research, I don’t know if I entirely agree with this definition. The direct translation from French means “in slavery.”


The Antique Jewelry University website defines it as “Bracelets and necklaces in a style with plaques connected with multiple chains is called en esclavage.”

The website ADIN Fine Antique Jewelry gives this definition:
“Esclavage, French for slavery. A type of necklace composed of three chains or strings of beads or jewels in which the chains or strings hang approximately equidistant from each other. They were worn in Normandy as peasant jewelry in the mid-18th century.”

From the sold archives of One of a Kind Antiques .com was this piece:

The description also give a little history:

“Collier d'Esclavage. "slave necklace". A complete example of early 19th century French regional jewelry. The gift of a "slave" necklace was a marital tradition in most of France's most fortunate regions. It symbolically represented the transmission of wealth and at the same time the bride's engagement made on the wedding day to produce a bounty of children for each additional plaque of gold and its chains corresponded to a subsequent birth. The "esclavage" was an important investment reserved for those with important means. Each chain of the esclavage necklace represents the price of a pair of oxen, or a thousand francs, which in the 19th century was a very important sum.”

This definition is echoed on other sites such as the French blog, Jewelry and Precious Stones which posted several examples.

Roughly translated from the blog “The collar of slavery, in gold, was in the nineteenth century, the greatest gift a husband can give to his young wife, the Empire or the Restoration.
It usually consists of several chains in festoons, generally has three connected ovals, rectangular, glazed or not.”

Side note- festoons are the floral and fauna elements draped and swaged between larger focal components.

This example is from BijouxAnciens:

Musées en Haute-Normandie has a nice piece in their collection.The term could certainly have been used for any manner of necklaces over the years evolving with fashion trends. In fact, contemporary examples tend to be of the fetish persuasion. Since words have different meanings depending on period and region, the example shown in class may very well be en eslavage but I believe the other examples above illustrate a more common usage of the term