Spoon
1791-1792 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
A spoon is a type of household implement used (depending on the form and size) for serving, stirring, basting, eating etc., and consisting of a shallow bowl (usually oval, sometimes circular) and a handle (varying in length, curvature and style of decoration0. From about the 1660s to the 1760s, the stem curved in the same direction of the bowl but thereafter, with the advent of spoons made in the ‘Old English Pattern’, the stem curved in the opposite direction of the bowl so that when a spoon is laid on a table both the bottom of the bowl and the terminal of the stem are in contact with the surface and the spoon is in a balanced position; hence on later spoons the decoration is on the front of the handle.
The styles of spoons vary tremendously, especially in the shape of the stem, the decoration of the bowl and the form of the terminal. The patterns of some spoons have distinctive names based on the shape and style of the handle, e.g. fiddle pattern, Old English Pattern, Onslow Pattern and dozens of others, both old and modern.
The styles of spoons vary tremendously, especially in the shape of the stem, the decoration of the bowl and the form of the terminal. The patterns of some spoons have distinctive names based on the shape and style of the handle, e.g. fiddle pattern, Old English Pattern, Onslow Pattern and dozens of others, both old and modern.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Silver-gilt, engraved |
| Brief description | Spoon, silver-gilt, London hallmarks for 1791-92, mark of George Smith and William Fearn; French import mark |
| Physical description | Spoon, silver-gilt, single drop, "Old English" pattern, engraved with a crest. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Credit line | Bequeathed by Claude D. Rotch |
| Object history | Rotch Bequest |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | A spoon is a type of household implement used (depending on the form and size) for serving, stirring, basting, eating etc., and consisting of a shallow bowl (usually oval, sometimes circular) and a handle (varying in length, curvature and style of decoration0. From about the 1660s to the 1760s, the stem curved in the same direction of the bowl but thereafter, with the advent of spoons made in the ‘Old English Pattern’, the stem curved in the opposite direction of the bowl so that when a spoon is laid on a table both the bottom of the bowl and the terminal of the stem are in contact with the surface and the spoon is in a balanced position; hence on later spoons the decoration is on the front of the handle. The styles of spoons vary tremendously, especially in the shape of the stem, the decoration of the bowl and the form of the terminal. The patterns of some spoons have distinctive names based on the shape and style of the handle, e.g. fiddle pattern, Old English Pattern, Onslow Pattern and dozens of others, both old and modern. |
| Associated objects | |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | M.332C-1962 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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