My Nana’s Czechoslovakian Ceramic Cow Cream Pitcher c. 1940: 39,200 ppm Lead & 1,187 Arsenic – used daily.

The main thing I wanted to share about this little cow pitcher is that it belonged to my grandmother and when I was a little girl I used it every single day when I was at her house visiting. She filled it with milk for us to pour on our cereal and during every meal it sat in the center of her kitchen with milk it in for coffee (for my grandfather or anyone else who wanted it). Of all the things that were given to me by my mother after my grandmother died (primarily a couple of pieces of furniture and a lot of photos) this is the thing that I cherished the most as it reminded me of my grandmother, and specifically of my childhood days visiting my grandparents in San Francisco.

I have now added it to my “Museum of Lead” collection of stuff – and will never use it for food use purposes for my family. If I was not working on this museum collection (for a future exhibit of Leaded items to be shared in a museum) I would not hold on to it as I would not want my children to cherish it as a memory of the past in the same way that I have.

The full XRF test results of this little cow pitcher are below.
You can also see a Lead-safe modern version of this pitcher by clicking here…

Orange side of the cow (images above):

• Lead (Pb): 9,575 +/- 183 ppm
• Arsenic (As): 1,187 +/- 78 ppm
• Barium (Ba): 889 +/- 186 ppm
• Chromium (Cr): 2,057 +/- 133 ppm
• Tin (Sn): 100 +/- 33 ppm
• Zinc (Zn): 173 +/- 18 ppm
• Iron (Fe): 945 +/- 65 ppm
• Cadmium (Cd): Non-Detect
• Antimony (Sb): Non-Detect
• Mercury (Hg): Non-Detect
• Selenium (Se): Non-Detect

Please continue reading below the images.

White base of cow (image above):

• Lead (Pb): 280 +/- 21 ppm
• Arsenic (As): 24 +/- 14 ppm
• Barium (Ba): 785 +/- 220 ppm
• Chromium (Cr): 162 +/- 90 ppm
• Zinc (Zn): 34 +/- 16 ppm
• Copper (Cu): 35 +/- 24 ppm
• Iron (Fe): 2,513 +/- 107 ppm
• Bismuth (Bi): 41 +/- 13 ppm
• Cadmium (Cd): Non-Detect
• Antimony (Sb): Non-Detect
• Mercury (Hg): Non-Detect
• Selenium (Se): Non-Detect

Please continue reading below the images.

Black handle of cow (tail – image above):

• Lead (Pb): 39,200 +/- 1,000 ppm
• Chromium (Cr): 9,552 +/- 343 ppm
• Zinc (Zn): 301 +/- 43 ppm
• Nickel (Ni): 205 +/- 102 ppm
• Iron (Fe): 8,806 +/- 481 ppm
• Platinum (Pt): 301 +/- 142 ppm
• Cobalt (Co): 6,501 +/- 351 ppm
• Manganese (Mn): 5,121 +/- 511 ppm
• Bismuth (Bi): Non-Detect
• Barium (Ba): Non-Detect
• Arsenic (As): Non-Detect
• Cadmium (Cd): Non-Detect
• Antimony (Sb): Non-Detect
• Mercury (Hg): Non-Detect
• Selenium (Se): Non-Detect

Test results reported on this website are science-based, accurate, and replicable. All tests were done using an XRF instrument reading for metals in “consumer goods mode.” Metals not detected by the instrument are not listed above. Tests were done for a minimum of 60 seconds each unless otherwise noted, and were repeated multiple times on each component to confirm the levels reported.

As always, thank you for reading and for sharing my posts. 

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama