The Artefacts on display at the Joy Spence Appleton Estate Rum Experience in St. Elizabeth tell a story of sugar plantation life, building construction and lumber-jacking. The survival of these artefacts allow us to have a peek into the lives of both plantation owners and enslaved Africans and those who tried to build their lives after emancipation. The preservation of these artefacts is critical to the understanding of the links between the past and present..
The hammer and Hoop Driver are the primary tools of any cooper. They are used to drive the metal hoops that hold the barrel together tightly onto the barrels. The Hoop Driver is placed on the hoops and the cooper hammers the top of the Driver to push the metal hoops down.
The flat draw knife is used to shave the convex curvature on the exterior of the staves. The rounded draw knife is used for hallowing out the concave curvature of the interior of the staves.
The flagging iron is used to remove the barrel heads.
This axe is used for chopping or “listing” barrel staves to a rough shape. The handle is offset from the blade to prevent abrasion against the wielder’s hand.
The hand Adze is used on oak containers to rough out the end to the staves prior to using the sun plane to create a perfectly level surface.
As the barrels of rum age, the Master Blender and her team frequently do a quality check on the liquid to ensure that it is ageing as they expect. To do this a small hold is drilled in the barrel and then a small sample of liquid is taken out. The hole is plugged with a conical shaped oak plug. The mallet is used to tap the oak plug into the barrel.
No sugar plantation could thrive without the use of the cane bill. The Old Bill was used for cutting sugar cane over the centuries and is still used in contemporary Jamaica. Bills were also a weapon of choice for the enslaved when they rebelled and confronted the plantation owners and their servants.
Source: National Museum of Jamaica
A version of the cane bill
Source:National Museum of Jamaica
Antique treen sailmaker’s liners or presses were made from one piece of wood usually a hard dense wood like lignum vitae. Sailors used to make their own tools and can be found with hearts, knots, and initials.
Source:www.sellingantiques.co.uk/891279/antique-treen-
walnut-sailors-seam-rubber-of-the-georgian-period
Known in Jamaica as the "Kitchen Bitch is made from tin, and functions as a three tiered, shadeless lamp. The lamp is fuelled by kerosene to a wick cloth through the handle. In Jamaica it is called ‘Kitchen Bitch’ because the soot from the lamp would deface kitchen walls, the traditional keeping place for the lamp. So the slang term ‘bitch up’would be associated with it. In other parts it is also called cow-gut or tinning/tinnin’ lamp. The name Tilly has origins in England, from one John Tilly, who built lamps for the British Army during the First European War, known as World War 1.
Source: National Museum of Jamaica and Jamaica Information Service.
This was once a popular household item that was used in homes after the enslavement era right into the 21st century. There are still a few homes that use this brush, especially in rural Jamaica. This brush is used to shine floors that are polished be it wooden or concrete. It gives a shine that is unmatched, according to folklore.
Source: The National Museum of Jamaica and Jamaica Information Service
This is used for separating solids from liquids or small articles from big articles of items such as sand and stone. Sieves have been in use for more than 5,000 years and was first used in Ancient Egypt.
Source: CSC Scientific Community, https://www.cscscientific.com/particle-size/sieves
Made from the horn of a cow. It is used to communicate and is associated with the Maroons. It was used to communicate complex coded messages across the Maroon communities over long distances, which could not be understood by the British colonials and their troops.
Source: National Museum of Jamaica and Jamaica Information Service
mortars go hand in hand with pestles. They are used to crush items such as grains and spices.
- a vessel designed to contain water and keep it cool
- a typical large 3-legged iron pot used for cooking, typically on outside coal or wood fire or in an old-time outside kitchen.
used for cooking.
Source:National Museum of Jamaica