This wooden mould was used to make swans out of butter. While most moulds were used to mark blocks of butter that were sold at market as an early form of product branding. This type of mould was used to create simple butter sculptures, the reasons varied. Some richer households would use the butter sculptures for decoration at dinner parties. Dairy producers would use them as decorations on their stalls at farmers markets to draw customers in.
Palaeolithic handaxe, Hamstead Marshall
One of the oldest man-made artefacts in the museum’s collection.
