On view at the Museum: The Society Sector
A blue-collar worker's portable canteen
Contemporary Era, Asia
AL9844
The four compartments in this dinner pail are used to hold various dishes, including soup. Dinner pails have become increasingly common in China since industrialisation.
Datasheet
- Type: Food carrier
- Place of origin: China
- Materials and techniques: Enamelled tinplate
- Date: circa 1965
- Dimensions: H 56 cm; Ø 15 cm
- Weight: 1.306 kg
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Knowledge
Picnics
The term ‘picnic’ first appeared in the 18th century and referred to a meal eaten indoors or outdoors to which everyone would contribute, either financially or by bringing a dish. From the 19th century, the upper classes abandoned the picnic in favour of garden parties, while middle-class city dwellers embraced this activity which offered a change of scene and the chance to get back to nature, far from the grey urban landscape.