Dessert Spoon
1830-1831 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Spoons, of different shapes and sizes for specific activities like eating dessert or soup or for taking snuff, developed in the 17th century. The dessert spoon was not commonly used until the early 18th century, when matching sets of cutlery became standard, with table spoons used for soup and smaller spoons for eating the fresh and candied fruits of the dessert course. Dessert cutlery, which could consist of knives and forks as well as spoons, was never laid on the table as part of the cover when dining a la Russe. It would be brought to the diner with a dessert plate for the last course of the meal. Old English and Fiddle were two of the most popular designs for cutlery and flatware and were produced in enormous quantities in the Victorian period.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Silver, die stamped |
| Brief description | Dessert spoon, silver, London hallmarks for 1830-31, made by Jonathan Hayne. |
| Physical description | Spoon, silver, fiddle,thread and shell pattern |
| Dimensions |
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| Production type | Mass produced |
| Marks and inscriptions | Marked on the back of the handle with London hall mark, duty, sterling, date letter for 1830-31, maker's mark of Jonathan Hayne. Crest of a boar's head on the front of the handle. |
| Gallery label | Dessert spoon, silver, one of a set of four dessert spoons and six dessert forks with Fiddle, thread and shell pattern,
Mark of Jonathan Hayne, London, 1830-31
Miss D.B. Simpson Bequest
M.182:6-1977 |
| Credit line | Bequeathed by Miss D.B. Simpson |
| Object history | Bequeathed by Miss D. B. Simpson |
| Historical context | Spoons, of different shapes and sizes for specific activities like eating dessert or soup or for taking snuff, developed in the 17th century. The dessert spoon was not commonly used until the early 18th century, when matching sets of cutlery became standard, with table spoons used for soup and smaller spoons for eating the fresh and candied fruits of dessert. Dessert cutlery, which could consist of knives and forks as well as spoons was never laid on the table as part of the cover when dining a la Russe. It would be brought to the diner with a dessert plate for that stage of the meal. Old English and Fiddle were two of the most popular designs for cutlery and flatware and were produced in enormous quantities in the Victorian period. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | Spoons, of different shapes and sizes for specific activities like eating dessert or soup or for taking snuff, developed in the 17th century. The dessert spoon was not commonly used until the early 18th century, when matching sets of cutlery became standard, with table spoons used for soup and smaller spoons for eating the fresh and candied fruits of the dessert course. Dessert cutlery, which could consist of knives and forks as well as spoons, was never laid on the table as part of the cover when dining a la Russe. It would be brought to the diner with a dessert plate for the last course of the meal. Old English and Fiddle were two of the most popular designs for cutlery and flatware and were produced in enormous quantities in the Victorian period. |
| Bibliographic reference | Arthur Grimwade, London Goldsmiths 1697-1837, London, 1990, p. 106 & 541
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | M.182:6-1977 |
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| Record created | August 13, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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