Circa 19th-Century Cramp Seam Copper & Wrought Iron English Milk Jug

Description

Excellent Pre-Owned Condition.

This beauty is lovely to look at and perfectly sized to serve as an oversized faux flower … more Excellent Pre-Owned Condition.

This beauty is lovely to look at and perfectly sized to serve as an oversized faux flower vessel. Though water tight, I would not recommend using it to serve or store liquid that is for human consumption, as it is handcrafted from solid copper so the tendency for copper to leach into the liquid is highly probable. I have used it as a décor accent and with our recent relocation, the smaller home we built does not allow for the display of many of my beautiful pieces, so this beauty is looking for a new home. Handcrafted from solid copper, the handle is actual worked wrought iron with primitive iron rivets. It has a cramp seam (often called a dovetail seam) on the backside where the handle is attached and on the lower part of the base. Cramp seams are the zig-zag lines running around the base and up the sides of any antique copper vessel or pot. These are the line marks where the coppersmith joined pieces of copper together to form the vessel, something like how a dressmaker sews pieces of cloth together to make a dress. The yellow stuff is a brass alloy. After the copper layers are cramped, molten brass is dripped on the cracks and smoothed over like caulk to help seal up and strengthen the seam, a process called brazing. Like a good tailor, a skilled coppersmith makes nice flat seams that are tight and strong, but these are seams that can survive for centuries. The era of cramp seams ended when welding became economical enough for the chaudronneries to invest in the new equipment. The principles of welding were discovered during the early 19th century but it remained an experimental technique until the turn of the 20th century. So speculatively, this beauty was made sometime during the mid to late 19th century. Its profile and crimped spout are indicative of an English vessel rather than French; unknown maker. It measures 16” high from tip of spout to base; base diameter 11¼”; lip opening diameter 4¾”; width 9½” (taken from the widest lower part of the jug); weight 7 lbs. For its age it’s in excellent condition. There is a barely discernible small thumb-size indentation on the right back side (see photo 11) that is truly indiscernible unless you are looking for it. There is age-appropriate patination and it could be polished to a gleaming copper color but why would you?

Thanks for looking! less