Details
Image(s)
TitleZarf (Coffee Cup Houlder) with Stagged Comb Movement
CreatorPiguet & Capt (speelwerk), Jean Georges Remond et Compagnie (goldsmith)
PlaceGeneva (Switzerland)
Year ca. 1810
Object number1201
Object categorymechanical instruments with playing comb, music boxes
Object namemusic box with cylinder
DescriptionThis coffee cup holder (also called a zarf) is richly colored in gold and red, and decorated with beautifully intricate floral motifs. The movement was probably made by watchmakers Piguet & Capt. The luxurious exterior was provided by goldsmith and jeweler Jean Georges Rémond et Cie.
Accompanying textsThe zarf plays one (currently unknown) melody. It has two steel combs, each with nine teeth.
In the 19th century (and still), coffee was an important beverage in Turkey, Egypt and other Islamic countries, in all walks of life. The ritual of making and drinking coffee is accompanied worldwide with its own utensils. A common receptacle for coffee was a cup without a handle. To hold the hot cup, it was accompanied by a cup holder: the zarf. Originally, this term generally referred to a holder or vessel: something in which something else is stored or kept. Zarf is also technically the name for the corrugated cardboard ring you find today around a too-hot cup of takeout coffee. The materials from which zarfs were made in the 19th century varied: from wood and bone, to the more luxurious ivory, silver, gold and agate. For less affluent people, zarfs were sometimes made of brass. The coffee drinkers in the 19th-century Turkish market for whom this particular zarf was made belonged to a wealthier clientele.
In the 19th century (and still), coffee was an important beverage in Turkey, Egypt and other Islamic countries, in all walks of life. The ritual of making and drinking coffee is accompanied worldwide with its own utensils. A common receptacle for coffee was a cup without a handle. To hold the hot cup, it was accompanied by a cup holder: the zarf. Originally, this term generally referred to a holder or vessel: something in which something else is stored or kept. Zarf is also technically the name for the corrugated cardboard ring you find today around a too-hot cup of takeout coffee. The materials from which zarfs were made in the 19th century varied: from wood and bone, to the more luxurious ivory, silver, gold and agate. For less affluent people, zarfs were sometimes made of brass. The coffee drinkers in the 19th-century Turkish market for whom this particular zarf was made belonged to a wealthier clientele.
Dimensions
geheel height: 5.2 cm