ABSTRACT
Imagine a kitchen in a household of middling rank in around 1700. In this hive of activity several hours would be spent every day to prepare and preserve the food that sustained its members. 1 At its centre was the fire, and above the fire hung the cooking pot.2 Our sketch of domestic industry is filled with smells, noise, heat and utensils. The objects that sustained the activities invite further investigation, for their existence suggests that our kitchen cameo is only a small part ofa much bigger picture. What were they? If they were objects required by those who laboured in the kitchen, how did they come to be at the workers' disposal? On what basis were decisions of acquisition made? How were the objects designed and made? How sold? How repaired? What happened when they came to the end oftheir useful life?
