Warming Pan

Date: Circa 1850–1900
Medium: Wrought Copper with Turned Wood Handle
Dimensions: Pan: 10–12″ Diameter; Overall Length: 36–45″

This classic 19th-century bed warmer (also known as a warming pan) is a staple of domestic history from the era before central heating. Designed to combat the damp, freezing winters of Europe and North America, these pans were filled with hot coals or glowing embers from the hearth. A servant or the “lady of the house” would then use the long wooden handle to slide the heated copper pan between the bed linens in a rhythmic motion, ensuring the bed was warm and the bedding dry before the inhabitants retired for the night.

The design features a hinged copper lid, often finished with a rolled edge and hand-riveted to a long, turned handle made of fruitwood, oak, or ash—woods chosen for their light weight and low heat conductivity. While earlier 17th and 18th-century models often featured elaborate piercings to allow oxygen to reach live coals, 19th-century examples like this one frequently had more solid or minimally decorated lids. This shift reflected a move toward using embers or hot sand rather than live coals, which reduced the risk of scorching the sheets or releasing noxious fumes into the bedroom. Today, these pieces are highly prized as decorative “fireside” antiques, often displayed on walls to showcase their warm, hand-polished copper glow.