Ladle

Description

This wrought iron cooking ladle with a copper bowl fastened securely by rivets was designed to endure for a lifetime of cooking when it was made. The ladle and similar long-handled utensils employed to manipulate food prepared in pots over coals or a fire were necessities for new families setting up a household. In early America a ladle might be a dowry gift from relatives to either a female or male child. This example is atypical for the level of personalization on the handle surface. An owner's initials, "A.T.", framed above and below by a triangle of three dots and with a trailing vine of tulips and berries are given gold color brass inlay which once contrasted brightly with the silvery sheen of a polished iron handle.