Hand-painted citrus juicer, Japan, 1930s-1940s.
Heritage Culinary Artifacts has been a staple at Oxbow Market ever since the venue opened in 2008, but the shop will close at the end of January after a five-year run. I definitely enjoyed browsing the ever-evolving display of antique cookware, which is already available for purchase online. Owner-curator Lisa Minucci has a great eye for original pieces, and she has traveled the world to procure a truly unique collection. 
I always felt that Heritage had a museum aura about it. It’s only by sheer coincidence that I finally got around to pitching this feature to Lisa a couple weeks ago; that’s when I first discovered that she was set to close her brick-and-mortar shop.
I’m a born collector, beginning with baseball memorabilia at an early age, followed by vinyl records, cookbooks, pulp crime paperbacks, and of course, wine. I also collect a few kitchen-related items, though my scope is mostly limited to vintage Pyrex, promotional glassware, and cast iron pieces. It’s no surprise that, as a chef, the collection at Heritage fascinates me. On a side note, Lisa and I actually have a Martini House connection: She was the restaurant’s original sommelier, and I was a pastry cook there (although we did work at Martini House at different times during its 11-year run). Napa seems like such a small valley sometimes.
Click on any picture for the full-screen photo. To view more items, or for purchase inquiries, please visit Heritage Culinary Artifacts.
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Meat press, France, 1800s.
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Mounted cork puller, America, late 1800s.
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Egg grading scale, America, early 1900s.
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Wine barrel driller, France, 1800s.
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Wine barrel driller, Rhone Valley, France.
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Pocket (hobo) stove, America, late 1800s.
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Hand-painted porcelain beer stein, Germany, 1910.
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Gravy boat by Eva Zeisel, America, 1940s. As an artist, Eva Zeisel cultivated a distinct linear style, which was captured in her “Town and Country” line of pottery, produced for Red Wing in 1947.
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Zig-Zag corkscrew, France, 1954.
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