Kruimelblik c. 1819 - 1822

This is a silver crumb tray, or 'Kruimelblik', made by Firma Beversen & Rodenberg. Considered a small, almost insignificant object, the crumb tray occupies an interesting space in the theatre of domesticity. In a time before the vacuum cleaner, the ritual of clearing crumbs speaks to notions of cleanliness and order, which were highly prized in middle-class households. But who performed this task? While the woman of the house may have taken on the role, it was very often a job for the domestic servant. As you consider this object, ask yourself: What labor went into maintaining the veneer of bourgeois respectability? What stories do these silent, functional objects tell about the social hierarchies embedded in the everyday? This crumb tray, with its delicate floral engraving, belies the quiet dramas of class, gender, and labor that played out in homes across the country.