Trivet
1668 (made), early 19th century (alteration)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This trivet was probably made in the late 18th or early 19th century using the brass plate from the front of a much earlier spit jack. As a trivet it is unremarkable but as a spit jack it is a rare survivor.
Spit jacks, or spit engines, were fixed above the fireplace in the kitchen and turned the iron spits on which meat was roasted or pots were warmed. Clockwork and lever driven engines were in operation in England by the 16th century and replaced men, or more often boys, called turnspits. Most are in iron but some brass examples survive from the 17th century including this example decorated with a figure of Atlas, signed TD and dated 1668.
Spit jacks, or spit engines, were fixed above the fireplace in the kitchen and turned the iron spits on which meat was roasted or pots were warmed. Clockwork and lever driven engines were in operation in England by the 16th century and replaced men, or more often boys, called turnspits. Most are in iron but some brass examples survive from the 17th century including this example decorated with a figure of Atlas, signed TD and dated 1668.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Brass, iron, cast, pierced and forged |
| Brief description | Trivet, pierced brass, with three iron feet and wooden handle, coverted from a rare brass spit jack, England, dated 1668 |
| Physical description | Brass trivet, with three iron feet and wooden handle. The brass is pierced and decorated with architectural 'baluster'-shaped columns and monsters heads with scrolling tongues, and on top is a globe supported by Atlas upholding the world with a dolphin on either side. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Object history | The brass top was formerly the front plate of a spit jack displayed vertically above the fireplace in the kitchen to conceal the pulleys and cracks used to roast meat and turn pots. The Museum bought the trivet from Messrs CW and JH Brown for £6 in 1892. RP: 6200/1892 |
| Historical context | Spit jacks, or spit engines, were fixed above the fireplace in the kitchen and turned the iron spits on which meat was roasted or pots were warmed. Clockwork and lever driven engines were in operation in England by the 16th century and replaced men, or more often boys, called turnspits. Most are in iron but some brass examples survive from the 17th century including this example decorated with a figure of Atlas, signed TD and dated 1668. |
| Production | Brass plate dated 1668 form a spit jack. Turned into a trivet probably in the early 19th century |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This trivet was probably made in the late 18th or early 19th century using the brass plate from the front of a much earlier spit jack. As a trivet it is unremarkable but as a spit jack it is a rare survivor. Spit jacks, or spit engines, were fixed above the fireplace in the kitchen and turned the iron spits on which meat was roasted or pots were warmed. Clockwork and lever driven engines were in operation in England by the 16th century and replaced men, or more often boys, called turnspits. Most are in iron but some brass examples survive from the 17th century including this example decorated with a figure of Atlas, signed TD and dated 1668. |
| Associated object | M.957PART-1926 (Source) |
| Bibliographic reference | Tony Weston, "English Roasting Jacks, Part 1: Weight Driven Spit Jacks of the 17th Century", Journal of the Antique Metalware Society, Vol. 17, June 2009, pp. 16-19, ill. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 715-1892 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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