Unusual Artifacts: A Walnut Fruit Press, 1700

Fruit Press
Italy, 1700
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This carved walnut fruit press takes the form of a lion's body. The lion rests on walnut brackets and an elm base. The lion's body is hollow, allowing it to receive fruit which is then crushed by a slat of wood with a cross-hatched underside. The mouth of the lion is fitted with a spout from which the juice from the crushed fruit pours.


This fruit press comes from Italy and was carved about 1700 or earlier. The press is really quite small and would have been given a prominent place on a kitchen table.