Vinaigrette box

At least three generations of Samuel Pembertons worked as jewelers and silversmiths in Birmingham in the 18th and 19th centuries, either fathers and sons or extended family. The third lived from ca. 1771–1836 and considering the date letter of 1806, is the likely maker of this vinaigrette. From the mid-1770s until at least the 1820s, the Samuel Pemberton workshops were on Snow Hill, the heart of the jewelry and toy-making district. Whereas bright-cut foliate engraving and wrigglework typified much of their boxes and vinaigrettes, this item is elegantly plain.



A vinaigrette was intended to hold a tiny sponge dipped in aromatic vinegar. Its interior is gilded to protect the silver from oxidation caused by the acidity of the vinegar. A hinged and decoratively pierced inner lid or grill kept the sponge in place while its perforations allowed the odor to waft through. A whiff of the vinegar might revive someone from a fainting spell. Such vinaigrettes were worn around the neck, on a chatelaine suspended from the waist, or carried in a pocket.