Museum Collections

Butter coolers were designed to maintain a cool temperature to prevent the contents from softening, melting, or spoiling. These decorative covered dishes often included an interior metal or glass liner to hold a block or mound of butter above cold water or ice. This cooler's Persian-style silhouette, topped with a pyramidal finial, reflects the late nineteenth-century interest in Near Eastern design. The cover is similarly ornamented with Egyptian Revival-style pendants and scrolls. The playful cow medallions, leaf terminal handles, and bird's head knife rests suggest the butter contained within the covered dish and the farms where it was once made.