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tlineopen  British / Irish Sterling
tline3open  Spoon shapes and decoration

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Author Topic:   Spoon shapes and decoration
agphile

Posts: 798
Registered: Apr 2008

iconnumber posted 11-13-2017 01:46 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for agphile     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I tend to group my 18th century spoons according to their form: Hanoverian, Old English, Fiddle Pattern, King’s shape. However, from time to time I like to pull out a few and organise them differently, for example to show how similar styles of decoration were applied to a range of spoon shapes.

My photograph below shows thread and drop decoration on three tablespoons of differing shape.

From left to right we have Hanoverian, Old English and Fiddle pattern. The Hanoverian and Old English examples are by the same maker, GS. It is not an exact match for any of the marks recorded in Grimwade but I think it must be George Smith III, particularly since the Fiddle pattern one was made in 1794.by the partnership of George Smith III and William Fearn. I cannot date the first two so confidently. The Hanoverian spoon’s date letter is very rubbed but I believe it to be the “a” for 1776. The Old English spoon has lost its date letter completely but must be much the same date, and certainly before top marking was introduced in 1781.

The drop on the fiddle pattern spoon is extended by further droplets running down to the hallmarks that have now moved up the stem. However, the simpler drop is retained on a small Old English spoon of 1793, also by the Smith and Fearn partnership. I bought this one for its unusual bowl shape rather than for the pattern

I could probably do a similar exercise for other motifs such as thread and shell but I’m not sure it would prove anything, and it would take me a while to sort out and photograph examples, so I shall leave it at this.

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asheland

Posts: 935
Registered: Nov 2003

iconnumber posted 11-14-2017 10:24 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for asheland     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Great thread! I like seeing the patterns as they evolved side by side.

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Polly

Posts: 1971
Registered: Nov 2004

iconnumber posted 11-14-2017 11:28 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Polly     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
If we were all computer whizzes, we would make an animation of the forms evolving from one to another. Wouldn't that be fun to watch?

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Scott Martin
Forum Master

Posts: 11573
Registered: Apr 93

iconnumber posted 11-14-2017 11:31 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Scott Martin     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Give me the photo sequence and I'll do the animation. smile

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Polly

Posts: 1971
Registered: Nov 2004

iconnumber posted 11-14-2017 10:32 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Polly     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Ah, I forgot--one of us IS a computer whiz!!

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