Featured on PDR in the collection The Butter Sculptures of Caroline S. Brooks

Butter as a sculpting medium can be traced back to "banquet art", a tradition most associated with the Renaissance and Baroque periods. In the same vein as sugar art, it was a way of bringing entertainment to the table and usually signified a special occasion or part of the meal. The earliest reference to the practice dates from 1536 and details the creations of Pope Pius V's cook Bartolomeo Scappi, among which could be found an elephant and a tableau of Hercules engaged in combat with a lion. Although these sculptures were only placed on the table long enough to impress the guests, the American sculptor Caroline Shawk Brooks (1840 – 1913) managed to exhibit her butter sculptures in galleries and exhibitions by using ice…