Holt Antiques at East Raynham
18th Century Antique Treen Pole-Lathe Turned Dairy Bowl
18th Century Antique Treen Pole-Lathe Turned Dairy Bowl
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This handsome late eighteenth-century treen dairy bowl, probably English or Welsh, was turned on the pole lathe from a single block of timber, from what appears to be elm rather than sycamore.
It is of generous, deep form with a simple rounded rim. The exterior is banded throughout with the pronounced turning rings left by the pole lathe, a distinctive rippling texture that catches the light and gives the surface real character. The interior is plain and smooth, scrubbed pale by generations of use. It contrasts with the warm, rich colour and dry patina of the outside.
Bowls such as this were the workhorses of the farmhouse dairy. Milk was left to stand in them so that the cream could rise and be skimmed off, and they were used for working butter and for mixing. Sycamore was the favoured wood, because it would not taint the milk and could be scrubbed clean again and again; however, in this instance, the bowl is unusually turned from elm. The pole lathe on which they were turned was a portable treadle-and-spring device, often set up by itinerant turners working in the woods where the timber grew. Each bowl bears the marks of the turner’s hand.
Today such bowls are prized for their honesty and sculptural simplicity. This one would make a superb fruit or display bowl on a kitchen table, dresser, or sideboard.
Provenance: England/Wales. Late 18th Century.
Material: Turned hardwood, probably elm.
Condition: Good. There are pronounced pole-lathe turning rings and a scrubbed interior. There is wear, small knocks, and shrinkage consistent with age and use. Please refer to the images.
Dimensions: Diameter 12¼ in (31.1 cm); height 5½ in (14 cm)
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