Moustache Spoon
1912-1913 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
Moustache spoons were a Victorian and Edwardian oddity; invented to prevent a gentlemen's moustache from getting entangled with the soup. Cutlery manufacturers capitalized on a middle class with high disposable incomes which encouraged the development of a range of cutlery accessories, such as, for example, fish knives and forks, lobster picks, melon scoops and corn cob holders. Moustache spoons fell out of fashion after the first world war, when male luxuriant facial hair declined in popularity.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Materials and techniques | Silver, forged |
Brief description | Moustache spoon, silver, Sheffield hallmarks for 1912-13, mark of Atkin Brothers. |
Physical description | Moustache spoon, silver, oval bowl, waisted stem, teardrop end. The guard covers the lower half of the bowl, slightly convex, scalloped upper edge and a semi-circular cut out, opposite, on the lower edge. |
Dimensions |
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Production type | Mass produced |
Marks and inscriptions |
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Summary | Moustache spoons were a Victorian and Edwardian oddity; invented to prevent a gentlemen's moustache from getting entangled with the soup. Cutlery manufacturers capitalized on a middle class with high disposable incomes which encouraged the development of a range of cutlery accessories, such as, for example, fish knives and forks, lobster picks, melon scoops and corn cob holders. Moustache spoons fell out of fashion after the first world war, when male luxuriant facial hair declined in popularity. |
Collection | |
Accession number | M.2-2020 |
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Record created | January 13, 2020 |
Record URL |
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