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Nutmeg Grater

ca. 1690 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Nutmeg was an expensive spice, used among other things to season the fashionable drink of punch.The use of a shell to catch the nutmeg shavings reinforces the luxury and exoticism of the spice. This species of Cowrie shell is found in the Galapagos Islands and along the west coast of South America.

Outside the wealthiest court circles, 17th-century silver was used primarily for eating and drinking. The dining table was the heart of social activity, and novelty items were made for fashionable new drinks flavoured with spices and drinking games. The range of British silver for the home from this period (the first for which a representative quantity survives) demonstrates increasing foreign influences from France, the Netherlands and Portugal. The rising demand for fashionably decorated European silver from the 1660s onwards reflects Britain's new wealth and political stability.

Sir Arthur Gilbert and his wife Rosalinde formed one of the world's great decorative art collections, including silver, mosaics, enamelled portrait miniatures and gold boxes. Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Engraved silver and cowrie shell
Brief description
Silver and cowrie shell, England, ca.1690
Physical description
The oval cowrie shell is mounted in silver, with a hinged grater and plain scroll handle. The shell is held in place by a cruciform cage of silver straps on the upper side; the straps have engailed borders and an escutcheon at the engraved with the initials RB.
Dimensions
  • Length: 9.4cm
  • Width: 4.8cm
  • Depth: 3.8cm
  • Weight: 100g
Updated with measurements taken 18/08/08
Marks and inscriptions
  • No marks
  • Engraved with the initals RB
Gallery label
(Gallery 70, case 4) 11. Nutmeg grater for seasoning punch About 1690 England Silver and cowrie shell from the Galapagos Islands or South America Engraved with initials ‘RB’ Museum no. Loan:Gilbert.588-2008(16/11/2016)
Credit line
The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Object history
Provenance: Purchased from S.J. Schrubsole Corporation, New York, 1980.
Production
Engraved with initials RB
Summary
Nutmeg was an expensive spice, used among other things to season the fashionable drink of punch.The use of a shell to catch the nutmeg shavings reinforces the luxury and exoticism of the spice. This species of Cowrie shell is found in the Galapagos Islands and along the west coast of South America.

Outside the wealthiest court circles, 17th-century silver was used primarily for eating and drinking. The dining table was the heart of social activity, and novelty items were made for fashionable new drinks flavoured with spices and drinking games. The range of British silver for the home from this period (the first for which a representative quantity survives) demonstrates increasing foreign influences from France, the Netherlands and Portugal. The rising demand for fashionably decorated European silver from the 1660s onwards reflects Britain's new wealth and political stability.

Sir Arthur Gilbert and his wife Rosalinde formed one of the world's great decorative art collections, including silver, mosaics, enamelled portrait miniatures and gold boxes. Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996.
Bibliographic reference
Schroder, Timothy. The Gilbert collection of gold and silver. Los Angeles (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) 1988, cat. no. 32, pp. 135-36. ISBN.0875871445
Other numbers
  • SG 108 - Arthur Gilbert Number
  • 1996.665 - The Gilbert Collection, Somerset House
  • GB 215 - Arthur Gilbert Number
  • 1998.17 - The Gilbert Collection, Somerset House
Collection
Accession number
LOAN:GILBERT.588-2008

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Record createdJune 19, 2008
Record URL
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