CHAPTER VIII
DOMESTIC UTENSILS
The kitchen—The houseplace—Chimney and other ornaments—Classified arrangement.
A collection of metal-work representative of domestic utensils as they were fashioned in very early times, and as they were made in days so far forgotten as to render the common objects of daily use curios, is regarded, probably, as the most important branch of copper and brass, from a collector's standpoint. The collector may be content with gathering together a few examples of old domestic metal-work and using them as ornamental reminders of olden time, decorating his entrance hall or rooms furnished after the antique with the objects he gathers together, or he may arrange them as in a museum gallery. The display of curios is at all times a matter of taste, but it is one of some importance, especially in a branch of collecting so conspicuous as copper and brass. We can scarcely conceive of any real pleasure being derived from such a hobby, or of such specimens being appreciated by one's friends, when specimens so obviously out of place are shown in a modern dining-room or drawing-room furnished in nouvre art. The Keeper of the London Museum, now transferred to Stafford House from Kensington Palace, has very appropriately arranged the antiquities of London in their proper historical and chronological sequence, and has grouped them so that the reference they bear to contemporary surroundings can be understood by those who see them for the first time. The photograph which we reproduce in Fig. 23 represents a corner in a well made up seventeenth-century room, in which has been gathered together some beautiful old oak furniture of that period. It is panelled with oak which has been procured from old London houses of contemporary date; the doorway is a genuine antique from Bromley-by-Bow, adding to the appearance of the room, for its hinges and lock furniture are splendid examples of the brasswork of that period. Some pieces of Cromwellian armour, prominent among which are variously ornamented helmets and breastplates, are arranged round the upper portion of the room. Over an old oak chest is a beautiful brass skimmer, and on the wall a seventeenth-century brass bed-warmer, with engraved cover. On the sideboard is a huge key and a brass mortar. The lock furniture and the drop handle on the sideboard, which are of brass, are worthy of note. On the other side of the room there is a fine brass trivet standing in front of the hearth, on which are andirons, and logs ready for the firing; close by is a quaint old candlestick. Undoubtedly curios displayed in such a way interest and instruct those who see them, and a room so furnished enthuses collectors with the desire to secure other objects of an appropriate character; this in itself is an advantage in that a representative collection is of more general interest than one containing many objects of a similar character.
FIG. 23.—SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY ROOM IN THE LONDON MUSEUM.