Spoon
1786-1787 (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 decoration). 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, forged |
| Brief description | Silver, Newcastle upon Tyne hallmarks for 1786-87, mark of R. Pinkney & R. Scott |
| Physical description | Spoon of silver, handle turned down at the end, pointed bowl with a drop on the back. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Credit line | Gift of J.H. Fitzhenry |
| 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 decoration). 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. |
| Bibliographic reference | Ian Pickford, Silver Flatware, English, Irish and Scottish, 1660-1980, Woodbridge, Antique Collectors; Club, 1983. ISBN. 0907462359 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 218-1903 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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