1959.2588 Ladle, view 1
  • 1959.2588 Ladle, view 1
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Ladle (Whistle)

  • Category:

    Organic (ivory, horn, etc.)

  • Place of Origin:

    England, United Kingdom, Europe

  • Date:

    1750-1850

  • Materials:

    Horn; Wood

  • Museum Object Number:

    1959.2588


  • Complete Details



Object Number

1959.2588

Object Name

Ladle (Whistle)

Category

Organic (ivory, horn, etc.)

Credit Line/Donor

Bequest of Henry Francis du Pont

Place of Origin

England, United Kingdom, Europe

Date

1750-1850

Materials

Horn; Wood

Dimensions (inches)

1.5 (H) , 12.6 (L) , 3 (Diam)

Dimensions (centimeters)

3.8 (H) , 32 (L) , 7.5 (Diam)

Measurement Notes

Diameter is of bowl

Object Description

Web - 08/31/2021

Horn is a versatile and durable material (primarily keratin) that is thermoplastic. It becomes pliant and flexible with heat. A hornsmith or horn worker can bend and reshape it, press it, or flatten opened horns into sheets even to the point of translucency. It was common practice to dye horn to simulate natural tortoise shell. Typical horn sources are cattle and buffalo, bison, sheep, and goats. In recent centuries, cow horn was not an exotic material, but ubiquitous and cross-cultural. By the early 1800s, there were professional horn cutters, horn pressers, horn plate manufacturers, scale pressers, horn comb makers and merchants, even horn waste dealers in America.

This ladle is made of horn featuring a pressed scalloped shell design on the bowl and the handle tip is a whistle.