by Giorgio
Busetto
click on images to enlarge
A FORGOTTEN OBJECT: THE SILVER WARMER
When central
heating was not available, besides stove and fireplace,
another heating item was used in ancient times: the
warmer (or brazier).
It was a container in metal, terracotta or ceramic
filled with embers and warm ash used as personal heating
support and bed warming.
The female custom of holdong the warmer next to the body or
under the garment is the origin of the popular Dutch
belief that women could be made pregnant simply by
holding the warmer on their womb.
A similar believing was present also in Tuscany, but in
this case the responsible was a winged pretty airy fairy
(folletto) who introduced itself in the body of the
woman and she was made pregnant (see endnote).
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a pretty airy fairy (folletto) makes pregnant
the woman holding the warmer
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The warmers had
a metal liner to avoid the direct contact of the live
coal with the external surface. The ceramic warmers were
painted on the sides and on the lid with rich floral
decorations, scenes of daily life or landscapes..
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'famille-rose' ceramic warmer
(19th century)
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A particular
item was the bed-warmer. It had a turned wood handle
and, in Italy, was inserted into an appropriate support to
avoid damage to blankets.
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Victorian bed-warmer with long wood handle
and the support used in Italy to protect the
blankets
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In Italy, the silver warmer was of oval or circular shape with
pierced lid for a better diffusion of the warmth (the holes were
called 'sfiatatoi'), wood or metal feet, elaborate scroll handle
with a wood or ivory support on the centre.
The 18th and the 19th century production of silver warmers
attained a high artistic level, with models which followed step
by step the taste and the stylistic evolution of their time (ornamentation
with flowers, leaves, masks, geometric bands, gadroons,
beadworks ...).
This item was a typical artifact produced by the most renowned
silversmiths throughout Italy (Rome, Naples, Florence, Milan) (see
below).
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silver warmer
of oval shape, standing on four ball and foliate feet,
pierced on the body and on the lid, scroll handle.
Silversmith Lorenzo Zandonati, Bologna, 18th century, second half
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Silversmith Lorenzo Zandonati, Bologna,
18th century, second half
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silver warmer
of circular shape, standing on four paw foot, gadrooned
embossed body, pierced lid with floral motif, double
scroll handle. Presumably Naples, 1824/1832.
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Presumably Neaples, 1824/1832
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silver warmer
of oval shape, standing on four paw feet, pierced lid
with floral motifs. Silversmith Giannotti Angelo, Rome,
1824-1865
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Silversmith Giannotti Angelo, Rome, 1824-1865
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silver warmer
of circular shape standing on a plain feet, body
gadrooned and with large floral band, pierced lid and
bud finial. Silversmith Menazzi Girolamo, Rome,
1802-1835
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Silversmith Menazzi Girolamo, Rome, 1802-1835
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silver bed
warmer of circular shape with ebonized turned wood
handle, large chiselled band on the body and on the lid.
Silversmith Biagio Giordano, Naples, 1774-1793
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Silversmith Biagio Giordano, Neaples,
1774-1793
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silver bed
warmer of circular shape with turned wood handle. Plain
body and pierced lid. Milan about 1820
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Milan about 1820
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silver warmer
of oval shape standing on oval beaded foot. Body
engraved with monogram FO and decorative motifs, pierced
lid with leaves. Silversmith Angelo Codacci, Florence,
1773-1821
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Silversmith Angelo Codacci, Florence,
1773-1821
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(endnote) the tradition of women rendered pregnant by
fire was well known in ancient Etruria and is mentioned in Roman
age by Plinius and Livius. They report that Ocresia (a prisoner
of war of noble origins) was rendered pregnant by the fire of
the domestic Lares (household gods) generating in such way
Servius Tullius, who, after the death of his spouse's father
Tarquinius Priscus (Tarquin the Elder), was elected the sixth
King of Rome.
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ASSOCIATION OF SMALL COLLECTORS OF ANTIQUE SILVER
versione
italiana 
