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Spoon

1773-1774 (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 decoration). 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
Silver, London hallmarks for 1773-74, mark of Walter Tweedie - but can't be, as hadn't registered mark then. See instead William Turpin (Grimwade 3341). Hanoverian pattern, single drop, triad of initials N over I * E engraved on finial.
Physical description
Spoon of silver, the handle engraved with the initials NI.E. Handle turned up at the end, oval bowl with a drop on the back.
Dimensions
  • Length: 22cm
  • Weight: 67.1g
Marks and inscriptions
  • London hallmarks for 1773-74
  • Mark of Walter Tweedie
  • Engraved with the initials NI.E (Unidentified)
Credit line
Gift of J.H. Fitzhenry
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 decoration). 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.
Bibliographic reference
Ian Pickford, Silver Flatware, English, Irish and Scottish, 1660-1980, Woodbridge, Antique Collectors; Club, 1983. ISBN. 0907462359
Collection
Accession number
185-1903

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
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