The RCP Museum is delighted to announce the loan of two silver nipple shields from the Symons Collection to Hampshire Cultural Trust.

To mark the 250^th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth, Hampshire Cultural Trust is hosting a series of events, including an exhibition focusing on the lives of working women in Jane Austen’s novels. Wetnurses, maids and cooks are often secondary, incidental characters in Austen’s Novels, but through archives, objects, costumes, portraiture and a specially commissioned soundscape, Beyond the Bonnets – Working women in Jane Austen’s Novels, aims to bring these women into the spotlight.

The RCP’s silver nipple shields sit in a display case dedicated to childcare, along with an ivory teething ring, a rattle and a Bubby Pot, similar to one in the RCP’s collection. Nipple shields protect and soothe nipples while breastfeeding, and silver versions like these were briefly popular in wealthy homes. Other examples of nipple shields in the RCP’s collection, including versions in wood, ivory and lead, are on display in the Treasures Room at 11 St Andrews place.

Beyond the Bonnets is open now at The Arc in Winchester until 2 November 2025, and then at the Willis museum in Basingstoke 12 November 2025 to 22 February 2026