Hungry? In the mood for an omelet? Eighteenth-century cooks used small, circular, covered vessels like these examples–made by Wedgwood of creamware, a kind of low-fired earthenware ceramic–to beat an egg. A series of spikes, or prongs, pointed toward the center line the inner wall. A cook broke an egg into the main vessel, covered it, and shook.
Art in use
Here is an 18th-century recipe for your omelet:
To make an Omelette. Put a quarter of a pound of butter into a frying pan. Break six eggs and beat them a little, strain them through a hair sieve. Put them in when your butter is hot and strew in a little shred parsley and boiled ham scraped fine with nutmeg, pepper and salt…
—From The Experienced English Housekeeper: For the Use and Ease of Ladies, House-Keepers, Cooks, &c.… by Elizabeth Raffald (first published 1769)
Comments from the gallery
Question: “How would you use an object like this in your life?”
- “To hear faraway sounds.”
- “To catch fish.”
- “As a sugar container – spikes help to break up lumps with room in the center for a small sugar spoon.”
- “To sift through spices that might get stuck together.”
- “To grind coffee beans.”
- “As art.”
- “To hold loose tea leaves.”
- “To keep kids’ hands out of the cookie jar.”
- “As a lemon squeezer.”
- “To protect my Oreos.”
- “To mix something.”
- “As a fairy torture device.”
- “To clean my glass eye!”
- “To strike fear in the hearts of my enemies.”
- “As a walnut crusher.”
- “As a bug catcher.”
- “As a musical instrument. I’d put beads in it, and shake firmly.”
- “To hide money in.”
- “As a trap for pests/rodents.”
- “Cookie or candy jar if I didn’t want to share.”
- “To store cotton balls.”
- “As a home for my pet bug.”
- “As a cream separator.”
- “To keep notes and trinkets.”
- “To julienne vegetables.”
- “As a jewelry safe.”
- “To hide precious things that I don’t want anyone to touch.”
- “To trick my enemies.”
- “As a Halloween decoration.”
Question: “What are the first three words that come to mind when you look at this object?”
- “Wow – that’s – cool”
- “Sand – worm – dentures”
- “Utility – teeth – old”
- “Incredible – edible – egg”
- “Dagger – devour – drum”
- “I – am – scared”
- “Grinder – container – unique”
- “Sharp – dangerous – interesting”
- “A – musical – instrument”
- “When – is – dinner”
- “It – is – beautiful”
- “Tuna – fish – can”
- “Sharp – finger – trap”
- “Awesome – weird – cool”
- “Sharp – pointy – scary”
- “Teeth – scary – bad”
- “Lip – stick – holder”
- “Old – food – processor”
- “Tooth – pick – separater”
- “Drum – milkshakes – blender”
- “Green – spikes – container”
- “Grinder – green – spikes”
- “Fruit – juicer – yum!”
- “Shaker – grinder -drum”
- “A – top – hat”
- “Ouch – shaker – trap”
- “Sharp – teeth – ouch”
- “Death – blades – torture”
And one more insightful comment from Abigail, a gallery visitor: “I could see this as somebody’s heart. It is hard to get to, but once you get it, it is amazing!”