tea spoon

Summary

Set of six tea spoons with trifid ends and rat tails on the back of the bowls. Stems engraved on both sides with acanthus leaves and a mask near the top of the handle; the back of the bowl is engraved with an acanthus leaf.

Display Label

Gallery text panel Spoonline Spoons are more than just tools for eating. As tables were not set with cutlery until the 1600s, individuals had to carry a spoon from meal to meal. The silver spoon became a status symbol, and was often a person's only valuable possession, to be passed down from generation to generation. Babies 'born with silver spoons in their mouths' were thought to have a privileged start in life. A Christian godfather would give his godson a spoon bearing the apostle after whom the child was named and so a spoon became a traditional christening gift. As new foods and drinks were introduced from 1650, social etiquette developed around the spoon, with different sizes and types for different foods. Middle class Victorians never used a teaspoon for jam, a jam spoon for tea or a dessert spoon for soup. What would you use each of these spoons for?