Pewter

Small Cannikin

with pomegranate on pewter plate and walnuts

This small pewter jug is approximately 60 years old. It was given to my mother-in-law in the time she was a school teacher by a pupil of her's at leaving school.

"Pewter cannikin on stone."
Oil on canvas, 2008
40 x 30 cm

The word cannikin derives from the Dutch word kanneken, which is the old form of the present day kannetje. It means a small can. I had never heard this English word despite having lived in Scotland for all these years. I guess most English speakers say "small can" when they talk about a small can.