Accession Number

983.322a-b

Alternate Name

cuspidor; footstool

Description

One wooden footstool with four bun feet and a hinged top that is covered in a woolen needle-worked cluster of multi-coloured flowers on a red ground. Inside the stool is a brown-glazed ceramic spittoon.

Narrative

This spittoon and footstool combination appears to have been a home-made afterthought. It probably started off as just a footstool, and because it has the appearance of Tunbridge ware, it may have been made in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England. Sometime after it was made, somebody decided to convert it into a discrete spittoon holder.

History of Use

Unknown. This cuspidor was purchased by The Castle Society in spring of 1981.

Date

circa 1870

Material

Wood; Fabric, wool; Metal, brass

Technique

Flat sawn; Marquetry; Stitched

Country of Origin

United Kingdom