Not currently on display at the V&A

Spoon

1776-1777 (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
Brief description
Spoon, (picture back), silver, London hallmarks for 1776-77, mark WC (unidentified, possibly William Cattel - Grimwade 3062)
Physical description
Spoon, silver, Hanoverian pattern, single drop, pointed bowl with the image of a ship, handle turned up at the end.
Dimensions
  • Length: 21cm
  • Weight: 60.8g
Marks and inscriptions
  • London hallmarks for 1776-77
  • Mark: WC (Unidentified, possibly William Cattel - see Grimwade 3062.)
Credit line
Bequeathed by Dr R. C. Jackson
Object history
Bequest - Dr R C Jackson
Acquisition RF: 23 / 6300
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.348-1923

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Record createdSeptember 10, 2004
Record URL
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