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Author Topic:   Picture Front Spoons
agphile

Posts: 798
Registered: Apr 2008

iconnumber posted 06-20-2016 08:24 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for agphile     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I thought I might share another small group of 18th century spoons that I have collected over the years: picture front teaspoons. You will often see them referred to as cast spoons but I believe that in fact their decoration was normally die-stamped. I have yet to come across a reference book that is much help in identifying the subjects of these picture fronts. The catalogue for the sale of a collection two or more decades ago was quite useful but I now can’t remember the date or the auction house to try and track it down again.

Perhaps one of you will be able to help, or to put me right if I have got anything wrong in my comments on the spoons that follow.
I think this first example shows a helmeted female head, which I interpret as Minerva, but I am open to correction. The acorn shaped bowl is an occasional feature of picture front spoons. I did once wonder whether it has some Jacobite significance but I suspect it is just a stylistic quirk. As is typical of small spoons during this period the spoon is only partially marked, for Elizabeth Jackson, but can be dated to 1748-50, between when she was widowed and when she remarried.

The next example is a little later, perhaps c.1760. The maker’s mark is too worn to be identified.
I originally identified this as Silenus, the fat and debauched foster father of Bacchus. I have since been persuaded that it is as likely, if not more likely, to be Falstaff, the fat and debauched surrogate father of Prince Hal.

It is not always humans or gods.
This rather worn spoon shows what I take to be a phoenix. Its marks are squashed and illegible but it also probably dates from c.1760.

As you can see, I have simply picked up examples that interest me without worrying too much about marks or condition. I have several more spoons in this group which can follow when I next find a few minutes to compose a post.

PS Sorry about the varying quality and size of the pictures. It doesn't matter how clever the technology of photography has become, I seem to be able to defeat it.

[This message has been edited by agphile (edited 06-20-2016).]

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asheland

Posts: 935
Registered: Nov 2003

iconnumber posted 06-20-2016 10:26 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for asheland     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I also believe those to be die stamped rather than cast.

Great spoons! smile

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Scott Martin
Forum Master

Posts: 11573
Registered: Apr 93

iconnumber posted 06-20-2016 11:35 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Scott Martin     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
"...die stamped rather than cast...."

Its difficult to tell from a photo.

I suspect:
The first is from a die.
The second could be either.
The third could be either but I'm leaning towards cast.


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agphile

Posts: 798
Registered: Apr 2008

iconnumber posted 06-22-2016 08:18 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for agphile     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Thanks for the comments. On the question of die-stamped or cast, I have for years simply assumed that most of these spoons are stamped, shaking my head sadly at the ignorance of dealers who choose to describe them as cast. However, I have to agree it is difficult to be certain much of the time, even more so when relying on a photo rather than the actual spoon, so I thought I had better hunt round for an expert view. I remembered that some of my early picture front acquisitions matched spoons illustrated in “English Silver Spoons” by Michael Snodin. Incidentally, I think this is probably still the best introductory guide for the English spoon collector. Second hand copies are available very cheaply in the UK.

Anyhow, I looked up my Snodin, which had been untouched for years. He illustrates four picture fronts, describing three of them as stamped and one as stamped or cast. One of those he describes as stamped is identical to the one I identified as a phoenix in my original post, but he calls it an eagle. Who am I to argue with him? I guess he is responsible for “stamped” becoming my default view from the outset. I wouldn’t want to argue the case for any particular spoon but, looking at all my examples, I remain of the view that most were probably die-stamped.

Let me get back to the spoons and show a few more deities.
From left to right:

Flora (or possibly Ceres but I would expect wheat sheaves rather than flowers for the Goddess of Harvest). By Thomas Jackson I, London, c.1750.

Neptune (or, at least, a figure holding a trident) by George Smith II, London, c.1760.

Apollo (identified by his halo and the bow he is holding) by Jeremiah King, London, c.1745.

I’ll follow up with a few more examples when I next get a moment.

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asheland

Posts: 935
Registered: Nov 2003

iconnumber posted 06-22-2016 10:43 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for asheland     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Great spoons as always! smile

I have a copy of that book, it's a great reference for the price.

Those spoons also (appear) to be stamped. The silversmith members here may have an opinion, too.

Great spoons regardless!

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agphile

Posts: 798
Registered: Apr 2008

iconnumber posted 06-24-2016 09:28 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for agphile     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Well, a majority of British voters have opted to stampede for the cliff edge. To take my mind of things, I return to my picture front spoons. Next up some cherubs or Cupids.

From left to right:

Cupid. You may just be able to see the small wing behind his shoulder. Marked with London lion passant and a maker’s mark too worn to decipher. I think possibly c.1760-70. Note the way the edge of the stem has been shaped round the decorative scrolls.

A cherub, c.1750, maker’s mark WC. Snodin illustrates an identical spoon by the same maker and describes the figure as Cupid. I have chosen to say cherub because I think Cupid is usually shown with wings. This is the spoon where Snodin was unsure whether the stem design had been stamped or cast.

Snodin also suggests that the rare acorn shaped bowl had Jacobite significance, something I was more dismissive of in an earlier post. I have only come across these acorn bowls on picture front spoons, with no obvious link to any specific picture. The fact that they only appear on these more decorative spoons is what makes me suspect that they may just be a decorative quirk. However, I may just be reacting against a wider romantic tendency when describing 18th century antiques to imagine all sorts of unlikely Jacobite symbolism (or indeed a commercial tendency if “Jacobite” inflates the price).

Lastly, another cherub, I think from the same die as the previous spoon. This time the spoon is unmarked and I think it may be a little later, say c.1760, partly because of its slimmer proportions. The outside edges of the scrolls surrounding the cherub seem ever so slightly trimmed as a result.

I shall pause for breath but shall come back later with just a few more examples.

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asheland

Posts: 935
Registered: Nov 2003

iconnumber posted 06-24-2016 10:45 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for asheland     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Lovely spoons as usual! Keep them coming!

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ahwt

Posts: 2377
Registered: Mar 2003

iconnumber posted 06-24-2016 11:28 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for ahwt     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
What difference does it make if the spoons were cast or die stamps?
They are all wonderful examples of days gone past. Thanks for sharing your spoons with us.

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Polly

Posts: 1971
Registered: Nov 2004

iconnumber posted 06-25-2016 08:45 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Polly     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Thank you, as always, for the informative and interesting posts. Great spoons.

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agphile

Posts: 798
Registered: Apr 2008

iconnumber posted 07-10-2016 05:25 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for agphile     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Sorry for the long delay in acknowledging the kind words. Not so much that I have been genuinely busy: more that I have allowed various other preoccupations to expand into the available time. Anyhow, back to my picture fronts.

This is a group of three mask fronts. From left to right:

A Satyr’s head by Hester Bateman, silver gilt, circa 1780. As is typical, marked only with lion passant and maker’s mark. Less typical is the detail of the decoration and the shape of the stem which lead me to think it is later than the other examples I have. The circa 1780 date is supported by the mark appearing to be the one entered by Hester in 1778 while the spoon is bottom marked and hence prior to 1781.

Next, a small mask above an acanthus leaf. The mask too worn to say whether it represents any particular being. Unidentified maker’s mark only, struck twice, (I?)N or N(I?), circa 1760.

Lastly, a larger mask among scrolls and shells, less worn but I am still unclear who or what, if anything it represents. Lion passant and maker’s mark only for John Mackfarlan, London 1739 (the year the mark was entered. Mackfarlan died the same year).

[This message has been edited by agphile (edited 07-10-2016).]

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ahwt

Posts: 2377
Registered: Mar 2003

iconnumber posted 07-10-2016 11:58 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for ahwt     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Beautiful and mysterious decoration. Thanks for sharing.

I would also like to say I really enjoyed seeing the Scottish Open today. The weather looked as good as the golf.

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