Spoon thumbnail 1
Spoon thumbnail 2
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Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Silver, Room 65, The Whiteley Galleries

Spoon

1670-1671 (made)
Artist/Maker
Thomas Mangy (maker)
Place of origin
York (made)

Spoon, silver, oval bowl, straight stem, a skull engraved in the rounded finial.

Object details

Categories
Eating
Metalwork
Silver
Tableware & Cutlery
Object type
Spoon
Materials and techniques
Silver
Silver
Forging
Engraving (Incising)
Brief description
Spoon, silver, York hallmarks for 1671-72, mark of Thomas Mangy.
Physical description
Spoon, silver, oval bowl, straight stem, a skull engraved in the rounded finial.
Dimensions
  • Tip of finial to end of bowl length: 19.5cm
  • Weight: 54.7g
Length and weight measured by David Constable, independent scholar and spoon expert.
Marks and inscriptions
  • Three marks struck on the back of the stem: Mark of the York assay office; maker's mark of Thomas Mangy; assay office date letter.
  • The finial engraved with the arms of a female member of the Strickland family.
  • Engraved on the front of the spoon stem: 'Live to die' Engraved on the back of the spoon stem: 'Die to live'
Gallery label
12. THE STRICKLAND DEATH'S HEAD SPOON York, 1668-9 Mark of Thomas Mangy Engraved on the stem with a vanitas phrase reflecting on the transcience of life LIVE TO DIE, DIE TO LIVE. The rounded end accentuates the shape of the engraved skull. The reverse is engraved with the arms of a widow or spinster from the Strickland family, Boynton, Yorkshire. All the surviving daughters married, suggesting that the spoon was a childhood gift. York was one of the seven assay towns named in the 1423 Act, but goldsmiths' names are recorded from 1190 and were using their own marks and a town mark by 1411. The date letter sequence was probably introduced around 1559-60. Until 1701 the town mark was a leopard's head and fleur-de-lis, and thereafter the city arms. Ada Micklethwaite Bequest M.12-1932(1990)
Credit line
Given by Miss Ada Micklethwaite
Object history
Gift - Miss Ada Micklethwaite
Acquisition RF: Ada Micklethwaite
Bibliographic references
  • Jackson, C J. A History of English Plate, Ecclesiastical and Secular. 2 vols. London: 'Country Life' Ltd., 1911.
  • Constable, David J. E. Silver Spoons of Britain. The Complete History of Silver Spoons of England, Ireland and Scotland and their Makers 1200-1710. 2 vols. [Great Britain] Constables Publishing, 2016. ISBN 9780957134416
Collection
Metalwork Collection
Accession number
M.12-1932

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Record createdSeptember 10, 2004
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O104207/spoon-thomas-mangy/
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