Everyday Objects @museum.de

M: Many items that were once commonplace are virtually unknown these days.

Take that round object hanging on the wall, for example – the one with the long handle and pierced brass lid. It's not a cooking pot for Asian dishes, but a bed-warmer. You filled it with hot coals in the evening, closed the top and put it between the sheets before you went to bed. That way, you were nice and warm when the working day finally came to an end.

F: You only have to look at the fittings of the dowry chest, at the strainers or the pitchers in the area under the eaves on your right: brass utensils signalled prosperity.

On the other hand, a lot of everyday objects were made of pewter. Large pewter platters were a popular gift for important occasions or anniversaries. The gift-givers would have them engraved with their own name, the occasion and the year they were presented. As a result, many families still own 18th or 19th century pewter plates that bear a date. And most of those plates do show their age. Pewter is a soft metal that easily becomes warped.

M: Perhaps that's why it has almost completely disappeared from our own homes and everyday objects. In the Ammerland region, only the famous "Löffeltrunk" – the "spoon drink" is still sipped from pewter spoons. As to what it tastes like? You'll have a chance to try it for yourself. At the Spieker, they serve the Löffeltrunk in the old-fashioned way.