Small Metal Cauldron: Detail from the Setúbal Altarpiece, 1520-1530 AD

The detail from the Calvary panel of the altarpiece shows the small cauldron in great detail. It appears to be made of sheet copper alloy in panels which were perhaps riveted or soldered together. Two suspension pieces attached to the rolled rim hold the semi-circular iron handle.

This is a very traditional form of cooking vessel for use suspended over an open fire, to boil liquid, and meat, vegetables and other food in it. The rough clay vessel from a Saxon farm in England, and the fragmentary iron cooking-pot from Late Saxon Oxford, were of a similar form and use.