non-member submission - SC - More on 'Nef' (including a citation)

[Michael Gunter]

Subject: Re: SC - More on 'Nef' (including a citation)


The Oxford English Dictionary entry on "nef" has 2 quotes which, I think,
describe the item in question.
(1) "...the Nef being...a piece of gilt plate in the shape of the hull of a
ship in which the napkins for the king's table are kept."
(2) "Of these ornaments, one was the nef or ship--a vessel generally of
silver which contained the salt-cellar, towel, &c., of the prince or great
lord."

(Both these quotes come from the 19th century.)

BUT:
The 1998 Encyclopedia Britannica, v. 8, p. 581, has a nice color picture of
a silver-gilt nef in the British Museum, probably French, about 1530. The
article describes a nef as a European vessel in the the form of a ship,
possible originally used as a drinking vessel and then as a table ornament,
often of precious metal or rock crystal. It often had spaces for salt,
spices, or table utensils. Apparently the nef was another way in which to
display wealth and status.

Mathilde
(working late in the library)

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