Frypan
Maker & role
Unknown, Maker
Production date
1940
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Object detail
Collection
Measurements
0 - Whole, H: 9.7 x W: 41 x D: 22.5cm (H: 97 x W: 410 x D: 225mm)
Credit line
Gift, 1999
Susannah Place Collection, Museums of History New South Wales
Susannah Place Collection, Museums of History New South Wales
Caption
Frying pan with slight pouring dent, maker unknown, pre 1940, aluminium
Description
This aluminium frying pan has tapered sides and a small pouring dent on one side. The handle of the pan is steel, which has rusted with age. The lower of the three rivets attaching the handle to the pan has been replaced with a screw, held by a nut on the outside. There is staining around the interior base of the pan and rivets, and considerable staining around the rivets and base of the handle. The shape of the handle matches those of a lidded saucepan (SP99/5) and colander (SP99/4) also held in the Susannah Place collection.
Aluminium was a popular material for cookware in the early 1900s. Compared with iron and copper (which had formerly been the primary cookware materials) aluminium was much lighter, cheaper to buy and heated quickly saving gas, easier to clean and did not rust. Stainless steel shares many of these attributes but was much more expensive. Aluminium is quite a soft metal and dented easily if knocked against a hard surface or dropped. Enamelled steel was sturdier than aluminium and relatively inexpensive, but the enamel layer chipped easily and the steel beneath, once exposed was prone to rust. Although easy to wash, aluminium required some care, however, as some foods and cleaning agents react with the metal causing it to discolour.
Aluminium was a popular material for cookware in the early 1900s. Compared with iron and copper (which had formerly been the primary cookware materials) aluminium was much lighter, cheaper to buy and heated quickly saving gas, easier to clean and did not rust. Stainless steel shares many of these attributes but was much more expensive. Aluminium is quite a soft metal and dented easily if knocked against a hard surface or dropped. Enamelled steel was sturdier than aluminium and relatively inexpensive, but the enamel layer chipped easily and the steel beneath, once exposed was prone to rust. Although easy to wash, aluminium required some care, however, as some foods and cleaning agents react with the metal causing it to discolour.
Accession number
SP99/7
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