A useful item in the well appointed dining room of the early 19th century. The painted tin box with an open back would have stood in front of the fireplace. The door on the front opens to a shelved interior where plates would have stayed to be kept warm until they were put on the table. The brass handles meant that it could have been carried from or to the kitchen with the plates already in place. This warmer was used in an early Westmorland County, Va. house. The Metropolitan Museum has a nearly identical example of the same early 19th century era as this, though they had been in use in the best houses since the late 18th century. George Washington had a pair of similar warmers.
