French Country · Encyclopedia · Copper
Stockpot and braising pan
A large stockpot and a braising pan from Paris, shaped with the hammer and joined with a dovetailed seam called wolf's teeth. Paris had a coppersmiths' guild as early as the reign of Charles VI.
French: pot-au-feu, daubière · Paris · early 19th century
At a glance
- Origin: Paris
- Period: early nineteenth century
- Construction: hammered, dovetailed seams
- History: a coppersmiths' guild from the reign of Charles VI
What they are
The pot-au-feu pot cooks the classic French boiled beef and vegetables. The daubière or braisière is a lidded pan for slow braising, sometimes with a lid designed to hold embers.
Hand-raised copper
These pieces were formed with the hammer and joined with dovetailed seams, called dents de loup, wolf's teeth, visible as a zigzag line. Such seams are a good sign of hand construction.
Collecting and using them
Copper cookware must be lined, traditionally with tin, before cooking. Check the lining and have it retinned if worn.
Large pots look superb on open shelving or as planters for kitchen herbs.
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.