Teaspoon

Dateca. 1690

MediumSilver; Gold (Silver-gilt)

DimensionsL(bowl): 1 1/2"; W: 7/8"; OL: 4 3/16"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1971-150

DescriptionGeorge II tea or sweetmeat trifid spoon with extensive carving on handle.Label TextTeaspoons first appear during the reign of Charles II. Seventeenth- and eighteenth-century ones are considerably smaller than their modern counterparts. Fully marked examples are uncommon, and, until 1782, it is customary for teaspoons to bear only the maker's mark and usually the lion's head erased or the lion passant, depending on whether the spoon is of Britannia or sterling standard.

This spoon is of a conventional late seventeenth century type of probably Huguenot introduction with overall foliate engraving on either side of the handle and a large acanthus leaf enclosing the rattail on the underside of the bowl. Such engraved spoons were usually gilded.

Small spoons of this sort were probably used interchangeably for coffee and chocolate, as well as tea. Nicholas Blundell of Lancashire acquired in London in 1703, just before his marriage, six "gilt Coffy Spoones" for 18s. These may very well have been similar engraved teaspoonsInscription(s)NoneMark(s)Maker's mark only on underside of handleProvenanceS. J. Shrubsole Corp., New York
Acquired by CWF in 1971.