Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
British Galleries, Room 125b

Sugar Sifter

ca. 1855 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Object Type
Sugar sifters are small ladle-shaped spoons which could be used at the table to take the powdered sugar from sugar bowls or sugar baskets and sprinkle it over fruit, puddings or cakes. During the 19th century refined sugar became cheaper and thus readily available to a larger section of the population.

Design & Designing
Sugar sifter spoons developed in the mid-18th century and are similar in form and size to sauce ladles, but with flattened bowl bases. The bowls were decorated with elaborate pierced patterns. It is not usually possible to identify the artist or designer responsible for a particular design on a piece of cutlery. In this case, however, a passage in the biography of the painter and draughtsman Thomas Stothard (1755-1834), who also designed silver, suggests that he may have created the Bacchanalian pattern on the handle of this sugar sifter. It states that Stothard 'made another masterly set of drawings for the house of Messrs Rundell and Bridge of Bacchanals. These were intended for the handles of knives and forks.' The Bacchanalian pattern was made from 1812 by Rundells' workshop manager and partner Paul Storr (1771-1844), but only for dessert ware. Storr continued to make this pattern from original moulds into the 1830s, and in the mid-century his successors Hunt and Roskell and the prestigious silver spoon and fork manufacturers Chawner & Co., directed by G.W. Adams (1808-1895), made cutlery in the Bacchanalian design.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Silver
Brief description
Silver sugar sifter spoon
Dimensions
  • Height: 3.5cm
  • Length: 16cm
  • Depth: 4.7cm
Dimensions checked: Measured; 07/06/1999 by silver dept.
Gallery label
British Galleries: Sugar ladles or sifter spoons were developed in the mid-18th century to go with sugar bowls. A 19th-century book advised 'Always remember to have finely-sifted loaf sugar in nice-looking glass, or electro, or silver bowls, with sugar-ladles, either on the table or the sideboard.'(27/03/2003)
Credit line
Bequeathed by J.A. Tulk
Object history
Designed by Thomas Stothard and probably manufactured by George W. Adams in London
Summary
Object Type
Sugar sifters are small ladle-shaped spoons which could be used at the table to take the powdered sugar from sugar bowls or sugar baskets and sprinkle it over fruit, puddings or cakes. During the 19th century refined sugar became cheaper and thus readily available to a larger section of the population.

Design & Designing
Sugar sifter spoons developed in the mid-18th century and are similar in form and size to sauce ladles, but with flattened bowl bases. The bowls were decorated with elaborate pierced patterns. It is not usually possible to identify the artist or designer responsible for a particular design on a piece of cutlery. In this case, however, a passage in the biography of the painter and draughtsman Thomas Stothard (1755-1834), who also designed silver, suggests that he may have created the Bacchanalian pattern on the handle of this sugar sifter. It states that Stothard 'made another masterly set of drawings for the house of Messrs Rundell and Bridge of Bacchanals. These were intended for the handles of knives and forks.' The Bacchanalian pattern was made from 1812 by Rundells' workshop manager and partner Paul Storr (1771-1844), but only for dessert ware. Storr continued to make this pattern from original moulds into the 1830s, and in the mid-century his successors Hunt and Roskell and the prestigious silver spoon and fork manufacturers Chawner & Co., directed by G.W. Adams (1808-1895), made cutlery in the Bacchanalian design.
Collection
Accession number
M.35-1956

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Record createdMarch 27, 2003
Record URL
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