Roasting Spit Jack

French 19th Century weight driven roasting spit jack. Mounted on wooden stand. Includes original weights, which are especially hard to find. 14"W x 18"L x 34"H From the late Middle Ages, weight-driven roasting jacks were used in the kitchen. The device must be attached to the chimney (rim) beside or above the fireplace's opening. A wide fireplace with a wide chimney is required for this purpose. More complicated mechanisms were also used here to run several spits simultaneously at different heights. Large pieces of meat could also be roasted and cooked on the powered spit. The weight-driven rotisserie has always been expensive equipment and therefore reserved for the nobility and large institutions such as hospitals. Installations for hanging the spits were built in front of the fire, but andirons with spit hooks were also used for this purpose. Central to the operation of the weight jack is the drive of the spit using a weight, a rope or chain, and one or more gears fixed in a wrought iron frame. The weight is usually stone, but can also be made of lead or copper. A minimum of two gears are required to drive the shaft with the spit. Extra gears are also used to generate extra force with the mechanism. Each weight-driven rotisserie has a so-called 'regulator'. A regulator is somewhat like a propeller and has the function of obtaining a regular rotation. If the regulator is running, you can assume that the spit is turning. The spit often rotates so slowly that it is difficult to see with the eye. There is a wide variety of weight-driven rotisserie. They vary in size, in complexity, and in shape and decoration. A very rare piece.