Sugar boiler for the Colonies – 16ᵗʰ century – Fonderies du Périgord – [ME075]

From the Périgord Foundries, these cast iron vats are recognizable at first glance. They are rounded in shape, equipped with rod handles and without couladous (drainage in Occitan) which made it possible to stack them for transport. These boilers were indeed intended for export. They were to join by sea, on large ships, the French colonies of the West Indies and Martinique. On site, they were used to heat the cane to extract the sugar which then returned to France. The perfectly preserved vat that we present here has on its side the mark of a V, the signature of the master blacksmith who cast it in the very first foundries of Périgord located between Les Eyzies and Le Bugue in the 16th century.

Sugar boiler for the Colonies – 16ᵗʰ century – Fonderies du Périgord – [ME075]
Sugar boiler for the Colonies – 16ᵗʰ century – Fonderies du Périgord – [ME075]
On its side the mark of a V, the signature of the master blacksmith who cast it
On its side the mark of a V, the signature of the master blacksmith who cast it
The rod handles made it possible to stack the vats for transport.
The rod handles made it possible to stack the vats for transport.
Some of these old vats, generous for soup, perfect for large washes or stackable to send them by boat to the Colonies, have managed to cross the centuries and come back among us.

Au temps où faire du fer n’était pas l’enfer !

Back when making iron wasn’t hell!