As a result of the sudden death of my new Sub-Zero (a painful and expensive death), I gained more display space above my new refrigerator and decided it was the perfect opportunity to expand my collection of German spice chests.

  I decided to be particularly choosey with any purchases and to wait until the nicest examples came up for sale.  This one in cherry fit the bill.  I had never seen one stencilled before.  It is also in old German script, which is one of my criteria.

 

 

          This one in oak is particularly charming with the carved top piece. 

 

I was thrilled to find this large walnut wall cabinet with little porcelain signs in old German script and pulls fashioned out of bone.  However, it didn't occur to me until I took this photograph that the cabinet may be for medicinal herbs rather than kitchen spices.   It does have a drawer for fennel (Felchen), but the other drawers are not your typical cooking spices -- lilac, for instance.  I must ask Maria and Dieter their opinion.  Germans typically had apothecary chests similar to this in their house, although this is a particularly fine one.  Nonetheless, it will hang in my kitchen along with my other spice chests!

 

     Although this spice chest has no porcelain labels (only porcelain knobs), I love it because of its fine grain painting. 

 

Leave a Reply