posted 02-05-2006 01:37 PM            

I have a hallmark question about this piece, but I thought it might be fun to post it as a "whatzit" first. If some one knows the answer off the bat, please hold back so we can have a bit of fun.

Tom

posted 02-05-2006 05:08 PM            

Rus,

You win - a Mate straw it is! The Spanish term is "bambilla". Instead of using a closed spoon or tea ball to contain the herb or tea leaves during brewing, people from parts of S. America strain the beverage by sipping it through these very elaborate straws. Modern ones seem to be made of Alpacca though I saw several antique ones (and a few new ones) made of silver. They often have a mouth piece of a different metal, perhaps because silver conducts heat so well (?). This one may be plate or silver, which leads me to the hallmark question. Anyone recognize this mark?

Thanks,
Tom

posted 02-06-2006 02:19 PM            

Mate is served in a hollowed out goard with metal mountings. Early silver mate containers of silver could be rather elaborate. The bombilla has a strainer to filter out the ingredients of the tea as it is been drawn through the straw.

Fred

posted 02-07-2006 09:06 AM            

I too have seen bombillas marked 800 and have assumed that that was the finess of silver in the alloy. Silver bombillas are often made with a rather ornate center portion to the straw. Perhaps this was created to help discipate the heat that would normally be conducted by the silver to keep the mouthpiece cool.

Does the strainer open up so it can be cleaned out. Usually you can either unscrew the strainer from the shaft and this allows the two parts to open with a hinge for cleaning.

Fred

posted 02-07-2006 06:24 PM            

Sadly, Uruguay has not had an indigenous population for over a century. Some were ethnic cleansed while others died of disease.
The drink survives, but as I said, I did not try it. Actually, I was more worried about how clean the "straws" were. They seem Ideal repository for germs. I suppose that is why each person has his/her own, rather like a tooth brush.

posted 02-09-2006 06:34 PM            

Were these only made in So. America?

posted 02-09-2006 08:15 PM            

I also saw ones with the bands you describe, although I think the metal may have been brass. I suspect that a baser, less conductive metal than silver may have been used to cut down on heat flow from the tea.

I suppose one could try and make these items look older, but they were so abundant as to hardly make it worthwhile. I suspect that the old ones found in the flea market I attended and in antique shops really are 800 silver.

As for the beverage and the straws, I understand that they are unique to S.America. I am not, however, a Latin American historian, so I am relying on colleagues for that information.