Treen Butter Dish

Circa 1920–1930 | England

An early twentieth century carved wooden butter dish with its original glass liner. Carved in a naïve treen style with the word “Butter” still crisp and deep.

DIMENSIONS: Diameter 15 cm, and Glass Liner Diameter 10 cm.

CONDITION: Excellent condition, with wear commensurate with antique age and use of such a piece. The butter dish has a lovely patina evident through the many years of handling. The glass insert has no chips or cracks.

REFERENCES: For a similar glass butter pat see Powerhouse Museum Object No. 85/384-158. For a carved butter dish with a porcelain insert see Miller’s Collecting Kitchenware, Christina Bishop, Millers, 1995, p. 33.

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THE GEN

“In the 19th century many families kept one or two cows for their own dairy produce and made their own butter and cheese in a dairy which was often adjacent to the house. Any excess would be taken to the local market.

When the butter had been churned, washed, worked and patted into shape by the dairy worker, it was marked with special motifs. To decorate the butter, either a carved butter print was used which was pressed down on the butter, or a roller was rolled over the butter to produce attractive designs on the surface.

Milk and cream were also delivered to nearby homes by a local farmer in a handcart. As cities and towns grew larger, a more sophisticated system for delivering milk was developed. By the late 19th century, large dairies, such as the Express Dairy in Britain, were established, which were able to produce every day.

Butter and cream were made at home in Britain until the 1950s, but cheese tended to be bought from the local grocers and markets. Interestingly, in continental Europe there has never been any tradition of delivering dairy produce to the door.” (Miller’s Collecting Kitchenware, Christina Bishop, Millers, 1995, p. 33)

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