Skewer 1775 - 1800

Curator: Here we have a photograph of a set of silver skewers, likely American and dating from the late 18th century, currently held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Editor: My first thought is of a formal dinner party, the skewers gleaming under candlelight. The stark monochrome image lends it a real air of elegant austerity. Curator: Indeed. These weren’t your everyday grilling tools. Silver skewers such as these signaled status and refinement. Owning a set would have been a clear indicator of a household's wealth and participation in certain social circles. Editor: Absolutely. Thinking about the labor involved, both in mining the silver and the craftsmanship needed to fashion these delicate points. This object encapsulates the means of material production and social distinction inherent in colonial American society. We see, in microcosm, the era's labor relationships. Curator: And these were far more than simply utilitarian objects. The silver itself held value, but their display reinforced social hierarchies. They speak to a burgeoning merchant class in the colonies and the ways in which objects played a critical role in demonstrating gentility and civic importance. Silverware became a signifier of power. Editor: The form itself— the tapering point, the delicate scroll at the handle—suggests not brute force, but rather refinement. Even the act of skewering meat is elevated. One almost forgets its crude origin in the slaughterhouse. I find myself considering what this image leaves out: the skilled labor, exploitation of resources and obscured suffering underpinning these emblems of refined American gentility. Curator: I agree. While seemingly simple objects, they are powerful symbols. They embody the complex interplay between social aspiration and the physical realities of the time, reminding us that even everyday items can reflect profound cultural values. Editor: Thinking about the material transforms my sense of them completely. It’s easy to forget about what has disappeared beneath the gleam, the work it took to bring that gleaming silver to the dinner table.