Tudor Wooden Trencher and Pewter Plate
Soup, stews, jellies, junkets, roasts, pies and porridge - food comes in many consistencies and needs different tools for eating. Knives and spoons were common in Tudor times, but forks were not. Many of the poorer families used stale bread as plates.
This Tudor wooden plate is called a trencher. Wooden household objects were called treen from a Saxon word meaning 'from the trees'. The trencher is made from sycamore, a wood with no smell or taste to spoil the flavour of the food. To prevent food from falling or dripping off the trencher, a circular dish was carved into the surface of the wood, occasionally on both sides. The small hole in the corner was used for holding salt, a valuable commodity at the time. Trenchers sometimes have handles.
The metal plate and spoon are made out of pewter, and would have been used by a wealthy family. The spoon has an acorn design at the end of the handle for decoration, and the plate has a deep rim to prevent food from spilling.
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Dimensions: Plate: Diameter:23cm |
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