Andiron with cooking pots and a pair of fire tongs c. 1590 - 1596

Curator: Let’s turn our attention to an andiron with cooking pots and fire tongs, crafted anonymously sometime between 1590 and 1596. It’s part of the Rijksmuseum's collection, and exemplifies medieval metalwork. Editor: Well, my first thought is its starkness. It feels like a very honest depiction of utility, all those hammered surfaces… even a bit menacing with those angular hooks and blunt edges. Curator: Absolutely. It's not merely decorative. The andiron, especially, demonstrates incredible materiality. Think about the iron itself—mined, smelted, forged. This object speaks of intense physical labor and the constraints of its era’s technology. You see the marks of the hammer. Editor: It's true, you feel the hammer blows in your bones just looking at it! I wonder about the pots themselves. What meals were bubbling over those flames? The hearth has always been so central, symbolizing warmth, sustenance, family… the very core of domestic life. And tongs… tools for tending, manipulating. It all resonates deeply. Curator: And consider how such everyday objects, repeated in households throughout the land, were significant centers of economic activity, defining class. The iron forges, the cooking habits, the heat keeping those meals cooking would change radically just one century later with expanding European empires! The history of the very material itself makes this far more than just a medieval object. Editor: So, from those humble tools arise bigger questions of our shared human experience? What a marvel. It really does bridge past and present. The sheer persistence of symbols... incredible. Curator: Indeed. By examining the making, materiality, and social implications, we recognize our enduring relationship to both craft and industry. Editor: Looking at this object really made me reconsider how deeply embedded in culture even the most utilitarian of objects can be.