salt and spices

shelf 4

Typically made from a plant’s root, bark, fruit, or seeds, spices can be used fresh or dried. They can be crushed or combined with other ingredients using a weighty pestle in a mortar, ground into a powder, or in the case of nutmeg’s hard seed, grated with a specialized tool. Containers for storing spices were designed to be airtight and secure, like the multi-compartment silver box from India, the world’s largest producer, exporter, and consumer of spices.

 


Click an object to learn more

Images

/A%20tin%20and%20silver%20nutmeg%20grater%2C%20it%20has%20rounded%20corners%20and%20a%20shield%20on%20the%20lid.%20 /A%20silver%20nutmeg%20grater%20that%20is%20abstractly%20shaped%20like%20a%20nutmeg%20seed.%20 /A%20bronze%20double%20ended%20pestle%20that%20is%20thicker%20at%20the%20ended%20and%20thinner%20in%20the%20middle.%20 /A%20bronze%20mortar%20with%20protruding%20decorations%20on%20the%20exterior.%20 /A%20creamware%20ladle%20with%20a%20shell%20shaped%20bowl%20and%20simple%20necked%20handle%20that%20comes%20to%20a%20flared%20out%20point%20with%20linear%20decorations.%20 /A%20white%20bowl%20with%20a%20flowered%20rim.%20Image%20of%20an%20eagle%20with%20an%20anchor%20in%20the%20center.%20 /A%20dark%20silver%20spice%20box%20that%20is%20sculptural%20and%20has%20many%20different%20rounded%20compartments.