Images(4)

Nutmeg grater

Date1707-1720

Marked by Thomas Farren (active 1707-1743)

OriginEngland, London

MediumSilver (Britannia standard)

DimensionsOH: 1 1/8", OL: 1 3/4", OW: 1 3/8"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1939-179

DescriptionSilver nutmeg grater: Heart-shaped box with hinged base and lid, both edged with applied molding. The slightly domed hinged lid conceals an inset perforated tin grater. The hinged base opens to form a compartment for holding a nutmeg.
Label TextHeart-shaped nutmeg graters were especially popular in the late seventeent and early eighteenth centuries. This English example bears the mark used between 1707 and 1720 by the London silversmith Thomas Farren.
MarkingsStruck in relief inside cover and base with sponsor's mark "F A" with a fleur de lis above and a mullet below, all in a square reserve with arched top and arched bottom [Grimwade 1990 # 666]
ProvenanceThe: Quarters, Fredericksburg, Virginia