Pair of trifid spoons with portrait of Queen Anne

Date1702-1714

MediumPewter; silver (silvered pewter)

DimensionsOL: 7"; W (bowl): 1 11/16"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1953-1083,1

DescriptionTablespoon: trifid type. Broad handle face with tripartite division at end with central lobe and flanking ears; thickened shank trapezoidal in section; oval bowl with long narrow rat-tail with ribbed edge on underside. Cast decoration in low relief of a profile bust of Queen Anne facing left with a small full-figure to either side upholding a royal crown above with trailing vine decoration depending from bust on face of handle; cast decoration in low relief of scrolled vines bordering rat-tail on underside of bowl. "SS" in ornamented script letters cast in low relief on underside of handle end.
Label TextA considerable number of Queen Anne commemorative spoons (such as CWF accession 1984-141) bear relief initials from their original castings. Those most frequently encountered are an embellished "SS" in script on the undersides of their handle ends. Known in three variations, Howard Herschel Cotterell associated these initials with Simon Sanders, a spoonmaker of Bideford. Ronald F. Michaelis feels that these initials and others found on such spoons do not relate to makers. He cites as evidence a Queen Anne commemorative spoon with the relief cast-initials "WP" with crown above on the underside of the handle and the maker's touch of David Heyrich of London in the bowl. Michaelis feels that Anne's accession to the throne in 1702 was the principal occasion for the production of these spoons. Because this pair have been silvered makes it difficult to be confident of their age, especially when they are desirable, decorated examples.
InscribedProbable owner's initials "SS" in ornamented script letters cast in relief on underside of each handle.
MarkingsNone
ProvenanceVendor: A. V. Sutherland-Graeme, London