Image

A small, mottled brown box with rounded corners.

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Unknown Maker, American

Nutmeg Grater

Now On View

Description

Maker

Culture

American

Title

Nutmeg Grater

Year

1800s

Medium

Tin with silver

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Tin with silver

Materials

tin, silver

Dimensions

2.5 x 2.7 x 5.1 cm (1 x 1 1/16 x 2 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Bequest of Miss Sarah C. Durfee

Object Number

15.917

Type

Tools

Exhibition History

Trading Earth

Ceramics, Commodities, and Commerce

Apr 09, 2022 – Jan 12, 2025

Label copy

Typically made from a plant’s root, bark, fruit, or seeds, spices can be used fresh or dried. They can be crushed or combined with other ingredients using a weighty pestle in a mortar, ground into a powder, or in the case of nutmeg’s hard seed, grated with a specialized tool. Containers for storing spices were designed to be airtight and secure, like the multi-compartment silver box from India, the world’s largest producer, exporter, and consumer of spices.

Use & Feedback

Image use

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This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Unknown Maker, American

Nutmeg Grater, 1800s

Tin with silver

2.5 x 2.7 x 5.1 cm (1 x 1 1/16 x 2 inches)

Bequest of Miss Sarah C. Durfee 15.917

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