Miniature warming pan 1715 - 1735

This miniature warming pan was made in England by David Clayton in the late 17th or early 18th century. While seemingly a child’s toy, this object opens a window onto English domestic life and social hierarchies. During this period, warming pans were essential tools. Filled with hot coals, they warmed beds in drafty, poorly heated homes. Often made of copper or brass, more elaborate examples in silver, like this one, signalled wealth and status. The dark wood handle, carefully turned, attests to the value placed on craftsmanship and refined materials within elite circles. The pan's diminutive size might suggest a child's plaything, but it also mirrors the larger world of adult concerns with comfort, status, and household management. Such an object offers historians insight into family life, gender roles, and material culture. Examining probate records, household inventories, and trade catalogues alongside such objects further illuminates the social context of their creation and use.