Heirloom

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Mementoes from a soldier's war service may become valued family heirlooms
Heirloom 1893 pocket watch with 18 carat gold case

In popular usage, an heirloom is something that has been passed down for generations through family members. Examples are a family bible, antiques, weapons or jewellery.[1]

The term originated with the historical principle of an heirloom in English law, a chattel which by immemorial usage was regarded as annexed by inheritance to a family estate. Loom originally meant a tool. Such genuine heirlooms were almost unknown by the beginning of the twentieth century.[2]

English legal history

In the English legal system, any owner of a genuine heirloom could dispose of it during his lifetime, but he could not

settled land can be created and the remaining pre-existing settlements have a declining importance in English law.[3]

A heirloom in the strict sense was made by family custom, not by settlement. A settled chattel could be sold under the direction of the court, and the money arising under such sale is

Southeast Asia

Pampangan, Tagalog and many others, pusaka specifically refers to family heirlooms inherited from ancestors, which must be treasured and protected. These pusaka may have individual names, honorific titles and may have supernatural
attributes and qualities. The possessor of the pusaka may be positively or negatively affected by the pusaka, depending on the will or spirit of the item.

The Javanese warrior-king

Gadjah Mada, several tombak (pikes and lances) and many keris, to affirm his legitimacy as a modern pseudo-king.[citation needed
]

In literature

The plot of the Anthony Trollope novel The Eustace Diamonds hinges on the heirloomic status (or not) of a diamond necklace.

See also

References

  1. ^ Taylor, Maureen A. (2003). Ancestry Magazine: Nov-Dec 2003. Ancestry Magazine. p. 35.
  2. ^ a b c  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainChisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Heirloom". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 13 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 217.
  3. ^ Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996, s.2
  4. Settled Land Act 1882
  5. ^ Re Hope, Dr Cello v. Hope [1899] 2 Ch. 679

External links