French Country · Encyclopedia · Copper
Watering cans
Fine old copper watering cans are rare: many hide under hard oxidation or have lost their rose. One example in the book is over a hundred years old and bright; another, dented and green with verdigris, is loved for its age.
French: arrosoirs · 19th century · copper
At a glance
- Material: copper
- Age of the bright example: over a century
- Common losses: the rose
- Patina: polished or verdigris, both appreciated
What they are
Copper watering cans were made for gardens and greenhouses. The rose, the perforated head through which water sprinkles, is often lost, which reduces value.
Patina or polish
The book shows two attitudes. One can, in good condition, is polished as bright as the sun. The other, dented and covered with green verdigris, should not be stripped: its beauty comes from its age, and its patina is its charm.
Collecting and using one today
Check seams and the spout for splits. Verdigris is stable if dry, but do not drink from or store food in copper with verdigris.
A copper can by the door or in a conservatory is both useful and decorative.
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.