Clay Stove and Saucepan, and Wooden Spoon: Detail from the Setúbal Altarpiece, Jorge Afonso's workshop, 1520-1530 AD

This detail from the Crib panel of the altarpiece shows a clear liquid, perhaps a thin soup, being warmed in a handled clay saucepan over a charcoal brazier, also of clay. Fragments of vessels like the saucepan and brazier or stove have been found in excavations at the Convent, demonstrating that the altarpiece faithfully reproduces scenes from local daily life.

The clay stove was a useful and suitable cooking device in Mediterranean lands where it was not felt to be necessary to have built-in fireplaces in most rooms. As with a modern outdoor barbecue, food could be grilled or fried when the coals were hot, more slowly cooked or simmered when they died down.

The wooden cooking spoon is comparable in the form of its bowl and terminal to silver versions of the period, but with a much longer handle.