Trade Kettle

Dateca.1650-1800

MediumCopper and iron

DimensionsDiameter at rim: 16 3/4"; Height to top of ear: 9 1/2"; Height to top of rim: 8 3/8"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1953-1067

DescriptionLarge circular kettle with its rim rolled around a stout iron ring, slightly tapering sides, and rivetted-on sheet copper ears with bent-down corners. Its wrought iron bale is tapered towards the ends, each of which is curved upwards through the ears.
Label TextKnown as "trade kettles" today, these copper or brass cooking vessels were used by almost everyone in North America from the 17th thru19th centuries. Lighter and more durable than their cast iron counterparts, they were available in different sizes and meant to "nest" into the next size up.

Fragments of sheet metal kettles are amongst the most commonly found copper or brass relics found in early American archaeological sites.

Native Americans, often preferring their own earthenware cooking vessels, also saw a trade kettle as a source of valuable material; sheet copper or brass could be cut up into projectile points or rolled into ornamental tubes, while the iron bales could be worked into tools like awls. For European Americans, once they were battered beyond repair, these kettles were similarly scrapped for other purposes.