According to an 18th-century dictionary, a posnet is defined as “a skillet, a kitchen vessel.” The form, which was little changed from medieval times, had three splayed legs and a long handle. It was well suited for warming or cooking at an open hearth. 

John Taylor’s name is cast into the posnet’s handle. Working in Richmond, Virginia, he made the vessel in the late 1700s or early 1800s. Taylor worked in a range of related crafts which, in addition to that of brass founder, included pewterer, gilder, iron founder, coppersmith, and bell founder. This posnet is one of a small number known from his shop. Remarkably, for an object that would have been exposed to harsh and frequent use, it has come down in such superb condition—apparently it was little used.

Related works: Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.