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spoon

Spoon
1765-1766 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The styles of spoons vary tremendously, especially in the shape of the stem, the decoration of the bowl and the form of the terminal. This spoon is a typical example of a type popular across Europe in the first decade of the eighteenth century until about 1770. The style emerged in England around 1710, and has become known as 'Hanoverian' because it was popular during the reigns of the first two Hanoverian monarchs (George I and George II), who ruled between 1714-1760. The drop at the heel of this example (where the stem joins the bowl) is characteristic of spoons made after around 1730. The finial of the spoon has been designed so that the spoon can be placed on the table with its open bowl down (the opposite of how it would be set on the table today). This arrangement followed French fashions, which had developed at the end of the seventeenth century.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Titlespoon (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Silver, forged and engraved
Brief description
silver, English, London, 1765-66, mark of James Tookey
Physical description
silver, Hanoverian pattern, pointed bowl with a drop.
Dimensions
  • Tip of bowl to tip of finial length: 20.4cm
  • Weight: 61.3g
Marks and inscriptions
  • Punched on the back of the stem, L to R from bowl: maker's mark of James Tookey, initials 'IT' in a rectangular punch; lion passant, for the sterling silver standard; leopard's head crowned, for the London assay office; gothic letter 'K' for the assay year 1765-66.
  • Engraved on the back of the finial (ie on the same side as the marks) with a crest, a demi-lion rampart
Credit line
Gift of J.H. Fitzhenry
Summary
The styles of spoons vary tremendously, especially in the shape of the stem, the decoration of the bowl and the form of the terminal. This spoon is a typical example of a type popular across Europe in the first decade of the eighteenth century until about 1770. The style emerged in England around 1710, and has become known as 'Hanoverian' because it was popular during the reigns of the first two Hanoverian monarchs (George I and George II), who ruled between 1714-1760. The drop at the heel of this example (where the stem joins the bowl) is characteristic of spoons made after around 1730. The finial of the spoon has been designed so that the spoon can be placed on the table with its open bowl down (the opposite of how it would be set on the table today). This arrangement followed French fashions, which had developed at the end of the seventeenth century.
Bibliographic references
  • Ian Pickford, Silver Flatware, English, Irish and Scottish, 1660-1980, Woodbridge, Antique Collectors; Club, 1983. ISBN. 0907462359
  • Grimwade, Arthur G.. London Goldsmiths 1697-1837. Their Marks and Lives. 1st edn. London: Faber and Faber, 1976.
  • Snodin, Michael. English Silver Spoons. London: Charles Letts, 1974. ISBN 850971101
Collection
Accession number
171-1903

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
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