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A sign for a water bath, giving gentle and controlled heat.
Also known as: Water bath, Mary's bath
A vessel set in a pan of hot water so its contents never exceed boiling point. Attributed by tradition to Mary the Jewess, an alchemist of Roman Egypt, and still standard equipment in every kitchen and laboratory.
Denotes a water bath: a vessel placed in a pan of heated water so that its contents are warmed gently and cannot exceed the boiling point of water.
Named for Mary the Jewess, an alchemist working in Roman Egypt around the first to third century, to whom the invention of several pieces of apparatus is attributed. She is among the earliest named practitioners in the Western tradition.
Roman Egypt · 1st–3rd century CE
Survives unchanged in modern cooking and laboratory practice, where the same principle gives controlled heat below 100°C.
Contexts: Laboratory
A small round vessel shown standing inside a larger open pan.