Water Reservoir
Display: Hearth to Cookstove
Culinary Technique: heat transfer
Date: 1800–1880
Location: Holland
Dimensions: 7" h x 6" w x 11" d
This copper vessel sat in a cavity in the front of a brick hearth or stove. It made a small quantity of warm water constantly available. A cook would have pulled the vessel out to add water through the lid in the top. Notice the curved surface of the heat shield, soldered to the nearly rectangular container. The handle and spout, set apart at a slight angle, are of similar length, suggesting that a user would have been very close to the source of heat and the pot into which the water was poured.