Terms and conditions of use
Fish trowel
(c. 1790)
- Medium
- earthenware
- Measurements
- 5.3 × 11.4 × 29.5 cm
- Accession Number
- 2024.368
- Department
- International Decorative Arts
- Credit Line
- National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Patricia Begg OAM Bequest, 2024 - Gallery location
- 17th & 18th Century Decorative Arts & Paintings Gallery
Level 2, NGV International - About this work
-
The eighteenth century saw the development of specialised pieces of cutlery intended for the serving of particular foods. This earthenware spatula was intended for the serving of fish, and the choice of material for such an implement was intentional. Fish was normally served with lemon juice, an acid that caused the discolouration of steel implements, in turn transmitting a metallic taste to the food. Ceramic or silver implements, unaffected by food acids, avoided such problems.