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| Silver filigree nutmeg grater, probably Samuel Pemberton, c. 1800. Held at Birmingham Assay Office. |
This delicate object was made to be carried on the person, and would have held a nutmeg in the larger compartment [see below], and had a surface for grating which opened the other side. It was fashionable over the eighteenth century to carry nutmegs which could be grated into coffee, chocolate, punch and other alcoholic drinks. Nutmeg was beautifully fragrant, and was relatively expensive. It was used to freshen breath and some believed it to have medicinal qualities too.
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| Showing the opening of the grater, with a section to hold the nutmeg and another for the grater. |
See my post on: Birmingham Filigree