French Country · Encyclopedia · Copper
Kettle
A copper kettle with a brass spout, the kind that sat in every kitchen of northern France not long ago. Less prestigious than the coquemar, this grandmother's kettle is gaining value and moving into other rooms of the house.
French: bouilloire · Northern France · copper and brass
At a glance
- Region: northern France and beyond
- Materials: copper body, brass spout
- Status: rising in value
- Care: polished to shine
What it is
A classic kettle with a domed lid, swing handle and brass spout. Polished with energy to stay bright, the book says, it brought sunshine into the house.
From kitchen to living room
Once purely utilitarian, these kettles are acquiring value with the years and moving from the kitchen to other rooms as decorative objects.
Collecting and using one today
Check seams and the join of the spout for leaks. Many copper kettles were tinned inside; worn tinning needs redoing if you plan to boil water in it.
A polished kettle on a stove or a sideboard adds warmth and light.
Source: Les Trésors de France: vieux métiers et objets d'autrefois (Éditions Rustica, Détours en France collection, 1995), pp. 138–142, with general background on the object. The book was published in 1995, so workshops, people and figures are described as they were then. Regional names and dates are given as the book records them; a style or a region of origin does not by itself date an individual piece.