Tea Spoon
1700-1800 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Silver toys were not only playthings for wealthy children. The term toy included any knick-knack or fashionable trinket, as well as a child’s plaything. Silver toys copied the exact details and proportions of normal sized pieces. They occur in an exuberant variety of subject and size ranging from domestic utensils to elaborate furniture. Several explanations of these objects have been tendered; that they were part of the furnishings of dolls’ houses, that they were trade samples made in miniature for convenience and security, that they were practice pieces for apprentices, that they were a fashionable novelty for adults to collect or that they were simply the playthings of rich children. In 1571, the daughter of Henry II of France ordered a set of small silver ‘pots, bowls, plates and other articles,’ to give to a royal child. The high point of production in London was the first half of the 18th century.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Silver, forged |
| Brief description | Minature tea spoon, silver, possibly made in London, 18th century. |
| Physical description | Minature spoon, ridged handle, turned up at the end, oval bowl with drop on the back. Handle is engraved SR. Marked with the lion passant and an illegible makers' mark. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Credit line | Given by J.H. Fitzhenry |
| Summary | Silver toys were not only playthings for wealthy children. The term toy included any knick-knack or fashionable trinket, as well as a child’s plaything. Silver toys copied the exact details and proportions of normal sized pieces. They occur in an exuberant variety of subject and size ranging from domestic utensils to elaborate furniture. Several explanations of these objects have been tendered; that they were part of the furnishings of dolls’ houses, that they were trade samples made in miniature for convenience and security, that they were practice pieces for apprentices, that they were a fashionable novelty for adults to collect or that they were simply the playthings of rich children. In 1571, the daughter of Henry II of France ordered a set of small silver ‘pots, bowls, plates and other articles,’ to give to a royal child. The high point of production in London was the first half of the 18th century. |
| Bibliographic reference | Ian Pickford, Silver Flatware, English, Irish and Scottish, 1660-1980, Woodbridge, Antique Collectors; Club, 1983. ISBN. 0907462359 |
| Other number | MET.LOST.1086 - Previous lost number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 146-1903 |
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| Record created | August 21, 2001 |
| Record URL |
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