Antique red copper kettle with dovetailed seam – handmade, 19th century

Antique red copper kettle with dovetailed seam

A handmade antique copper kettle in red copper, with a curved gooseneck spout, a stepped lid with a brass knob and a movable flat handle attached to the kettle with riveted hinge plates. The base is set into the wall with a dovetailed seam (a toothed, soldered seam): a hallmark of hand-raised copperwork from the 19th century. A number is stamped on the handle, probably the size of the kettle.

Why we chose this piece

This kettle has truly been used and it shows: the beautiful, irregular hammering, the warm dark patina and the contrast with the shiny brass knob. An honest piece of kitchenware that has become an atmospheric decorative object. It is a kettle of the same type as the copper kettle Vincent van Gogh painted in Nuenen, in his Still Life with Copper Kettle and Jug (1885, Van Gogh Museum); in The Potato Eaters (1885), too, one of the women pours from such a kettle.

Style and interior

Lovely on an old stove, mantelpiece or kitchen shelf in a rustic, brocante or wabi-sabi interior, or filled with dried flowers or branches.

Dimensions: width 35 cm (from spout to back), height 39 cm (with handle), diameter of body approx. 25 cm
Material: red copper, brass knob
Period: 19th century
Origin: Western Europe
Condition: used antique condition, complete with lid. The copper has a dark, unpolished patina with small dents and hammer marks (photo 8). There is some green oxidation around the rim below the lid (photo 7). The base is darkened from use on the fire (photo 9). Not tested for watertightness; intended as a decorative piece.
Price:
€ 135

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