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A nef is an extravagant table ornament and container used in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

and

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...

, made of

precious metal Precious metals are rare, naturally occurring metallic chemical elements of high economic value. Chemically, the precious metals tend to be less reactive than most elements (see noble metal). They are usually ductile and have a high lu ...

s in the shape of a ship – ''nef'' was another word for a

carrack A carrack (; ; ; ) is a three- or four- masted ocean-going sailing ship that was developed in the 14th to 15th centuries in Europe, most notably in Portugal. Evolved from the single-masted cog, the carrack was first used for European trade ...

in French. If not just used for decoration, it could hold

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices a ...

s (the latter being very expensive in the Middle Ages), or

cutlery Cutlery (also referred to as silverware, flatware, or tableware), includes any hand implement used in preparing, serving, and especially eating food in Western culture. A person who makes or sells cutlery is called a cutler. The city of Sheffie ...

, or even

napkin A napkin, serviette or face towelette is a square of cloth or paper tissue used at the table for wiping the mouth and fingers while eating. It is usually small and folded, sometimes in intricate designs and shapes. Etymology and terminology ...

s. The large nef depicted in the well-known calendar miniature for January from the ''

Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry The Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry (; en, The Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry) or Très Riches Heures, is the most famous and possibly the best surviving example of manuscript illumination in the late phase of the International Goth ...

'' is being used to hold, and perhaps wash, gilt dishes from the table service. Nefs are recorded in France as early as 1239, initially consisting of just the

hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

, and perhaps initially used to drink from; by the 14th century the most elaborate had masts, sails and even crew, and had become too crowded with such details to be used as containers for anything. The so-called Mechanical Galleon in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

is a late 16th-century German nef which was also a clock and

automaton An automaton (; plural: automata or automatons) is a relatively self-operating machine, or control mechanism designed to automatically follow a sequence of operations, or respond to predetermined instructions.Automaton – Definition and More ...

, with moving figures and music. Les Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry Janvier

A nef was usually made of

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

silver-gilt Silver-gilt or gilded/gilt silver, sometimes known in American English by the French term vermeil, is silver (either pure or sterling) which has been gilded with gold. Most large objects made in goldsmithing that appear to be gold are actually ...

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

, often further embellished with enamel and jewels. A

nautilus shell The chambered nautilus (''Nautilus pompilius''), also called the pearly nautilus, is the best-known species of nautilus. The shell, when cut away, reveals a lining of lustrous nacre and displays a nearly perfect equiangular spiral, although it ...

often formed the hull of the ship, as in the

Burghley Nef The Burghley Nef is a parcel-gilt salt cellar made in Paris in 1527–28 (or possibly earlier). It is in the form of a late medieval ship, the hull made from a nautilus shell. The ship sits on the back of a mermaid on an hexagonal base. The hei ...

(illustrated). Some nefs had wheels to allow them to be rolled from one end of the table to the other, but most had legs or pedestals. The nef was placed in front of the most important person at table as a mark of their status. The equivalent in religious plate is a ''navicula'', Latin for small ship, and also a term in English for a boat-shaped

incense Incense is aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. The term is used for either the material or the aroma. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremony. It may also b ...

-holder. OED, "Navicula. 3"

Gallery of decorative nefs

File:1503 Schlüsselfelder Schiff anagoria.JPG,

Schlüsselfelder Ship The Schlüsselfelder Ship (german: Schlüsselfelder Schiff) is a nef or table centrepiece in the form of a model ship, in this case a work of the German Renaissance about 1503. The carrack was made of silver-gilt in Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; ...

, Germany c. 1503 File:Burghley nef.jpg, The

(with sections ungilded), and

, 1527–28, France,

V&A Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

File:Ship Clock at British Museum cropped.jpg, Detail from the so-called Mechanical Galleon in the

, Germany c. 1585

Notes

References

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External links

{{Commons category, Nefs (metalwork)
Nefs in the Middle Ages and Renaissance
Links to nefs in museums, as well as medieval illustrations of nefs, demonstrating the range of uses for pre-17th century nefs. Serving and dining Silver objects Silver-gilt objects Marine art Medieval European metalwork objects Edible salt

Gallery of decorative nefs

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links