Butter Print: Anchor

Date1850-1875

MediumWood

DimensionsOverall: 5 7/16 x 3 1/16in. (13.8 x 7.8cm)

Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Foster McCarl, Jr.

Object number1982.708.4

DescriptionOne-piece circular butter print with 4 1/2-inch long handle that flares slightly toward the blunt, cone-shaped terminal. Handle and body are machine-turned, the face of the print hand-carved (except for a beaded line inside the circle of the rim) in the intaglio design of a large anchor with rope and, to either side, sprigs or sprays of foliage. The outermost border is chip-carved in a gadroon- or rope-like effect.

Artist unidentified.
Label TextWooden butter prints carved with various designs were used throughout the 1800s to produce molded decoration in butter. Flowers, acorns, wheat sheafs, and pineapples are often found on surviving examples. Nautical motifs such as anchors are rarely found, but the existence of an identical example suggests that the print may have been mass-produced. A traditional symbol for hope, the use of an anchor motif may have implied the wish for good fortune and prosperity.
InscribedNo original inscriptions found. A self- adhesive label scotch-taped to the reverse near the handle reads, in ink, "W261/00X", (probably a dealer's code).