Unusual Artifacts: A Silver Tobacco Grater, 1762

Silver Pierced Tobacco Grater
1762-1763
The Victoria & Albert Museum

When tobacco was first imported into Europe from the Americas,  it was definitely a luxury commodity, and, curiously one which was thought to have miraculous medicinal properties.  Tobacco-related items usually boasted the finest craftsmanship and materials since they could only by purchased by those wealthy enough for tobacco in the first place.

Here's an example of the sort of luxurious wares associated with tobacco.  We see here a silver container and grater with a hinged lid, decorated with a pierced pattern.  Such a tool would have allowed clumps of tobacco leaves to be grated for chewing, or, more finely, for snuff.  It was made between 1762 and 1763 in London, according to the hallmarks on the reverse.