What is treen? As the word suggests, treen
describes common utilitarian objects made of wood. The earliest recorded
use of the term is attributed to Archbishop Boniface in his description of
wooden chalices in the 13th century. In England, the term continued to be
used through the 19th century, so our colonial ancestors knew the word and
used it while designing and carving treen spoons and dishes. |
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The Bidwell House collection of treen has never
before been on display. Certainly, when Rev.
Bidwell entertained, he was able to use pewter plates and serving vessels
but the Keeping Room could not be well equipped without an extensive array
of kitchen treen. |
It is fun to google the word treen! More than likely, you'll arrive at
several antique dealers in New York City....you will immediately get a new
appreciation for treen as objects from the colonial era are priced in the
thousands! Once you are introduced to treen, you will also appreciate
everyday life in Massachusetts Bay on a new plane! A study of treen leads
to an awareness of the types of trees available for woodcarving,
specialized carving and other carpenter's tools, the use of decoration in
the construction of useful objects, and the tradesman's skills in the
overall construction of homes and furniture in the colonies. When a man
walked in the woods, he was on the lookout for a burl in a tree that could
become a bowl. Much of it was whittled by the fireside in the winter
months or outside the barn door in between chores in other seasons. |
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There's something sacred about old wooden ware. There's a certain smoothness over uneven cutting marks and worn edges. There are stains left on butter utensils, the dye tub is stained darkly, the flour scoop is whitened and a fragance may even linger on a spice box or a cider press. Wooden plates will have cut marks on the dinner side; turn them over and see more cut marks. Why? Well, because the plate was turned over for a serving of pie.
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Colonial treen is not abundant. The reason for that is because when
washing it, the object was scoured clean. Often it cracked and was no
longer useful. When that happened, it was added to the firewood in the
fireplace. The most beautiful survival of a burl bowl in our area is an
over-sized bowl on display at the Mission House in Stockbridge. |
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Wooden boxes, washboards, scrubbing sticks, winnowing sieves, tankards, chopping trays and porringers are all examples of treen. A favorite of the Bidwell House Director and the Bidwell House Caretaker are mashers. One masher owned by Esther Heffernan, our resident Caretaker, has the remnants of the original reddish paint on the handle; another owned by the director, Martha Dailey, is so finely turned, it is a work of art. Both are on display in the exhibit.
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