Perhaps each morning you would like to be served chocolate in bed, you know, just to get you a bit energized for the day or at least for your toilette.
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Chocolate Pot and warmer, The Young Moor's Head Factory, 1761-69. Tin-enameled earthenware.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
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This pot is made of clay, fired then glazed with a special glaze that would conceal any clay-colored flaws. The result is a perfect piece, hand painted with a floral and feathery motif. The colors are soft and would surely brighten any morning. Would you select this piece for your château?
A little more on chocolate:
Chocolate, the bitter drink restricted to kings, priests, and warriors when the Spanish first encountered it among the Aztecs in the 16th century, remained largely unknown in Europe until the next century. Exorbitantly expensive, it was a luxury available only to the wealthy in Europe. Since chocolate had to be stirred just before pouring — to mix the cocoa powder and sugar into the milk — a stirrer was incorporated into the design of the chocolate pot. The pierced hole in the lid through which the handle of the windmill-shaped stirrer, or molinet, protruded is the feature that distinguishes chocolate pots from coffee pots. No full-size chocolate pot is known to have preserved its molinet, possibly because the stirrers were made of wood and became discolored or worn over time.
"Chocolate, Coffee, Tea." The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2004. Accessed April 21, 2015.
It's extravagant, but bien sur.
ReplyDeleteEs maravillosa.
ReplyDeleteSure, i'd take it...but if it was given to me i'd hope they kept the receipt, just in case i should get nauseous...
ReplyDeleteHey! you know someone paid a lot of money for that.... :p
ReplyDeleteIt is lovely, I really enjoy seeing all of this great stuff, thank you for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteIt's charming, absolutely!
ReplyDelete@Emma Hox & @Can't See Sheep:
ReplyDeleteI know! I love this stuff too because...it is just fun to think, these pieces were once part of someones home- their everyday life. Even if they only noticed it in passing...
Love it, as it is made up of the colors in my living room.
ReplyDeleteWhat a charming piece!
ReplyDeleteOh YES! That's exactly what I can need for my Saint Petersburg Palace!
ReplyDeletethat is amazing! I have heard of these and they are so wonderful!
ReplyDelete@Lauren, to me objects like this are pieces of history & I love seeing these little bits of it as they help to create a more fleshed out, more intimate picture of a time period for me. These "little" details can say so much! This is great & your blog is a real gem. :)
ReplyDelete@Can't See Sheep: I could not agree more! Merci beaucoup!
ReplyDeletehow high are the lead levels in the glaze?
ReplyDeleteWow! This is very clever! In the 21st century, I've never heard of creating such pot!
ReplyDelete