What is a peat bucket?

A bucket for carrying peat fuel to the fire, and the commonest named use in this category, in 50 titles. It is usually a brass-bound hardwood body, mahogany more often than not, sometimes with a brass liner and sometimes standing on its own base.

Why are plate buckets slit down the side?

The slit let warmed plates be slid in and lifted out, so a servant could carry them from the kitchen to the dining room in one trip. Plate buckets appear in 24 titles on Sellingantiques, most on brass-bound mahogany bodies, and matched pairs of them sit at the top of the range.

How old are most of these?

The dealer dating runs from 1750 to 1930, though only 110 of 389 listings give a clean year. The rest carry broad period labels. Georgian appears in 62 titles and 18th Century in 43, together outnumbering Victorian at 27. The 20th-century tail is small: some 1900s and 1920s pieces, a few Edwardian, a handful of 1930s ice buckets.

Are leather fire buckets common?

They form about a tenth of the category. Leather appears in 41 titles, fire in 42, and the two together in 17. Riveted and boiled leather bodies recur, frequently painted with arms. Naval, institutional and military examples run through the group, including cordite and powder buckets, with 'royal' in nine titles.

Why is one bucket called three different things?

Because the same vessel suits several jobs, and dealers list it under all of them. One title offers a single object as planter, jardinière and wine cooler; another as peat bucket, tea stove, knitting basket and jardinière. A brass-bound wooden body of similar construction turns up as peat bucket, plate bucket, oyster bucket, log bucket and cooler across the archive.

Which buckets came from outside Britain?

Holland is the largest non-British strand, with 32 Dutch titles covering tea-stove buckets, boat-shaped bodies, parquetry ribbed forms and walnut with ebony. France follows with 13, including the hotte, a grape-harvesting back carrier. Ireland accounts for ten. Beyond that, single Chinese elm, Indian teak, Swedish and Scandinavian pine pieces are about the whole of it.