Spoon thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Spoon

1714-1715 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

A spoon is a type of household implement used (depending on the form and size) for serving, stirring, basting, eating etc., and consisting of a shallow bowl (usually oval, sometimes circular) and a handle (varying in length, curvature and style of decoration0. From about the 1660s to the 1760s, the stem curved in the same direction of the bowl but thereafter, with the advent of spoons made in the ‘Old English Pattern’, the stem curved in the opposite direction of the bowl so that when a spoon is laid on a table both the bottom of the bowl and the terminal of the stem are in contact with the surface and the spoon is in a balanced position; hence on later spoons the decoration is on the front of the handle.

The styles of spoons vary tremendously, especially in the shape of the stem, the decoration of the bowl and the form of the terminal. The patterns of some spoons have distinctive names based on the shape and style of the handle, e.g. fiddle pattern, Old English Pattern, Onslow Pattern and dozens of others, both old and modern.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Silver, forged and engraved
Brief description
Spoon, silver, London hallmarks for 1714-15, although inscription date is 1711; mark of William Scarlett (Grimwade:2484 ); dognose pattern, half ribbed
Pricked initials on finial: E * R over date 1711 ('1' as 'j')
Below this are engraved initials P A
Physical description
Spoon, silver, rat-tail pattern with a rib on the front of the handle. Inscribed: E.R 1711 P.A
Dimensions
  • Tip of finial to tip of bowl length: 21cm
  • Weight: 58.5g
Marks and inscriptions
  • London hallmarks for 1714-15
  • Mark of William Scarlett
  • Engraved E.R 1711 P.A
Credit line
Given by Dr Louis C. G. Clarke
Object history
Gift - Louis L G Clarke
Berkeley House
Hay Hill
Acquisition RF: Nov-11
Subject depicted
Summary
A spoon is a type of household implement used (depending on the form and size) for serving, stirring, basting, eating etc., and consisting of a shallow bowl (usually oval, sometimes circular) and a handle (varying in length, curvature and style of decoration0. From about the 1660s to the 1760s, the stem curved in the same direction of the bowl but thereafter, with the advent of spoons made in the ‘Old English Pattern’, the stem curved in the opposite direction of the bowl so that when a spoon is laid on a table both the bottom of the bowl and the terminal of the stem are in contact with the surface and the spoon is in a balanced position; hence on later spoons the decoration is on the front of the handle.

The styles of spoons vary tremendously, especially in the shape of the stem, the decoration of the bowl and the form of the terminal. The patterns of some spoons have distinctive names based on the shape and style of the handle, e.g. fiddle pattern, Old English Pattern, Onslow Pattern and dozens of others, both old and modern.
Collection
Accession number
M.639-1911

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Record createdSeptember 10, 2004
Record URL
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