Bed warmer or warming pan
England, possibly London
1730-1760
Measurements
43-3/4 in x 11-3/4 in (dia) x 3-3/4 in
Materials
Brass lid and bowl, iron shaft and frame, copper rivets
Credit Line
Historic Odessa Foundation, The David Wilson Mansion, Inc.
Accession Number
1971.917
Condition Notes
The shiny copper rivet at the base of the handle replaces an earlier one.
Provenance
Ex coll. Mrs. E. Tatnall (Mary Corbit) Warner
Comments
The bedwarmer has a warming pan suspended and riveted in four places to a circular iron strap that is itself riveted to a long handle. The handle, hammered flat, ends in a circular knop and has a hanging hook at the tip. The brass pan, which now appears black inside and out, has a hinged and polished brass lid decorated with engraved work and punched holes to let heat escape. The decoration includes six repeats of cones and clusters of circles arranged around a central boss of scrolls and coils.
This warming pan is similar to no. 93 in Donald L. Fennimore, Metalwork in Early America: Copper and Its Alloys from the Winterthur Collection (Winterthur, Del.: The Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, 1996), p. 175.
