Metals
Martin Eisenhauer (Probable maker)
Hereford Township, Berks, Pennsylvania, Mid-Atlantic, United States, North America
1776
Iron; Brass
Wrought
1960.0792
Object Number1960.0792 |
Fork (Cooking fork)
Metals
Bequest of Henry Francis du Pont
Martin Eisenhauer (Probable maker)
1754-1835
Hereford Township, Berks, Pennsylvania, Mid-Atlantic, United States, North America
1776
1. Mark; Handle, surface at center; "M:EISENHAUER", stamped incuse with brass inlay.
2. Mark; Handle, underside at center; "1776", stamped incuse with brass inlay.
Iron; Brass
Wrought
15.2 (L) , 1.7 (W)
38.5 (L) , 4.4 (W)
A long-handled cooking fork, sometimes called a flesh fork because it was useful for meat dishes, was an indepsensible utensil for cooking at an open hearth or over coals. This example holds the surname of a German-immigrant blacksmithing family, Eisenhauer (translated, "Iron cutter"), who first settled in Tulpenhocken, Pennsylvania in the 1740s. The fork may have been made by an Eisenhauer family blacksmith (likely Martin) for another family member with a first name beginnign with "M" or it was the property of the smith himself. The maker further enlivened this refined handle's surface with a perimeter of dots and a central reflexive tree-like ornament all called out with golden color brass inlay. The same technique outlines the date "1776" on the underside.
[Book] Fennimore, Donald L. 2004 Iron at Winterthur.
• Published: pp. 264-265, cat. no. 129b.
[Book] Ames, Kenneth L. 1977 Beyond Necessity: Art in the Folk Tradition.
• Published on p. 78, fig.90; p.115, cat. no. 86.
[Book] Hutchins, Catherine E., et al. 1983 Arts of the Pennsylvania Germans.
• Published: fig. 204, p. 213.
[Book] Barons, Richard I. 1976 The American Hearth.
• Published: fig. 32.
[Article] Mangieri, Scott. 07//2008 "Decoration for the Everyday: Early American Iron Cooking Utensils,". Antiques and Fine Art. 138-139.
• Published: fig. 3, p. 139.