VINTAGE
Victorian Ironstone Butter Pat
£29.00
Our Victorian ironstone butter pat pots would have been originally used in nineteenth century counter-service food stores. They have a wonderful weight, and an exceptionally pleasing shape. Re-found and restored back to their gleaming best, they now make the perfect home for butter at the dining table - and, if you want to be a tad authentic, fill the little pot with your own smoked fish, vegetable, liver or pork paté and seal with melted butter. They're just the pot for sea salt too.
History
By the 1880s food stores were making their own foods and own-brand products, which were dispensed in ironstone jars and dishes, such as this one. 1880 - 1915 was the era of ready-made edible comestibles, mainly savouries, to be spread on toast: potted meats and shrimps; bloater and anchovy pastes. Many were printed with advertising, yet many were unadorned and left plain, presumably to be re-used for a succession of different victuals. Eventually they were tipped, and often before the end of their life. Buried in the ground for over 120 years, they are now being rediscovered and un-earthed from Victorian dumps. Their pared-back pleasing shape and ironstone colours provide a glimpse into Victorian utilitarianism and into nineteenth century daily life and its needs – which now chimes with our own twenty first century ideals and pared-back modern aesthetic.
Year of manufacture: 1880 - 1915
Origin: England
Material: ceramic ironstone
Dimensions: Length 12.5cm Width 9cm Height 4.5cm
Condition: recently unearthed from a Lancashire Victorian tip, their century below ground has dealt them beautiful coloration and crazing to their glaze. Now purged of dirt and chemically cleaned, they are fit for purpose again. They have varying degrees of wear-and-tear, with some staining, rust spots, scratches, crazing and chips. Yet this all adds to their timeworn charm and character. See image.
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