Figural trivet with frog handle, dated 1859

Sold on eBay 12/13/16 ~ inscribed 1859

I was on a holiday cruise last December and missed bidding on this very interesting trivet. It sold 12/13/16 for $173.50 on eBay. After returning home I contacted the eBay seller Amy Bridge, aka vintagetoantique, who gave permission to share her info and images.

From Amy’s eBay auction listing: “This is a very nice and very old cast iron trivet. It has a frog handle; on each leg of the frog is a snake and on the end of each snake is a fish; in the center is a cricket or grasshopper. On the spoke above is the date 1859.”

The auction listing continues: “The trivet is 3 footed and is 8 1/2 inches long and 5 inches wide. It is in very good condition. Please note in the photograph the trivet was not ground down on the frog’s left leg and the left side snake. There still are mold marks there.”

Amy offered this additional information: “I work at an auction and it came from a man in Miamisburg, Ohio so I do not know where he got it. It had a nice patina and the iron was very smooth, not rough like many trivets are. I searched the internet and the only reference I could find was in Pinterest … here is the link to that find. I thought it looked like a grasshopper in the center, but this description called it a cricket. It must be about the food chain in fishing….. just an over all interesting trivet.”

Sold on eBay 8/14/14 ~ inscribed OCT 19, 1859 (Pinterest)

And now the story comes full circle, because the link she provided was from my Pinterest page Laundry Day Collectibles! I’d totally forgotten about this image I’d pinned back in 2014, after losing the trivet to a higher bidder. That eBay auction ended 8/14/14 for $333.33 after 18 bids. Notice it’s the same design, except that this trivet bears the more complete date of OCT 19, 1859.

If you’ve seen this design before, or have one in your collection, please contact me to share anything you know about it. I’d be interested to learn how many of this design were cast, by whom, and where.

PS: Message received on 4/01/17 ~  Lynn, what a wonderful blog to share with your love of trivets. Debated long and hard on keeping this beauty…… I was happy to help with the information on this trivet. Best Regards, Amy