Object ID
Object Name
Object Collection
Alternative Name
Stainless Steel
Object Entities
Topping, Nicholas (owned by)
Topping, Nicholas (is related to)
Object Description
This conical sieve, known as a chinois, is made from stainless steel. The rim has a small lip that allows it to stand with the point facing up evenly. The metal is covered with uniform holes and is only solid metal at the point when the two ends of the metal sheet overlap and in a small strip directly opposite. On this flat strip of metal the word "stainless" has been stamped on. At the end of this strip is small rectangular area that is alos free of holes. There are two small pieces of metal that may at one point have secures a small plaque there perhaps with the maker's brand or location. That is now lost. The metal has started to rust in a couple places especially the inside of the tip.
This item was found in a box marked as having been donated by Nick Topping but does not have any further documentation. The sieve was most likley one of the items sold in his store. While sieves are used in Greek cooking (e.g. greek yogurt) they are not distinctlive nor integral to greek cooking. Topping was born Nick Topitzes in 1918, the son of Greek immigrants who operated a grocery store in Milwaukee. Nick Anglicized his last name to avoid the rampant ethnic discrimination facing many Greeks at the time. After graduating with a degree in history and communications, Topping was drafted into the U.S. Army during World War II, where he served in counterintelligence in the Mediterranean. When Topping returned to Milwaukee after the war, he invested in what he knew best, and opened a general/grocery store, Topping and Co. International House. From then on Topping became a advocate for social peace and activism against the rampant racism of the time. He is also responsible for bringing the Beatles to Milwaukee. (Source: "Topping Brought The Beatles" by Sarah Biondich in the Express Milwaukee)
Rights and Reproduction


Sieve, Nicholas Topping Collection, National Hellenic Museum, https://collections.nationalhellenicmuseum.org/Detail/objects/9799. Accessed 03/01/21.