Images(6)

Soup Ladle

Dateca.1800

Marked by James Gaskins (1761 - 1827)

OriginAmerica, Virginia, Norfolk or Portsmouth

MediumSilver

DimensionsL. 13 3/4"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1978-92

DescriptionSilver soup ladle: Long, tapering handle with oval, down-turned tip and deep, round bowl. Back of bowl engraved beneath handle jucture with a large linear arc enclosing a smaller inverted arc. Script monogram engraved across front tip of handle
Label TextJames Gaskins was trained as a silversmith in Norfolk and, during his long career, had shops both there and in Portsmouth, Virginia. Like many silversmiths working in the Tidewater area during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, he is best known today by large quantities of surviving teaspoons, tablespoons, and ladles. Gaskins is notable for having used more than half a dozen different marks incorporating either his first and last initials, or the initial of his given name followed by his full surname.
InscribedEngraved "EEA" in foliate script across end of front of handle
MarkingsStruck in relief "J•GASKINS" in a shaped rectangle. Note that the "J" and "G" are larger than the other letters of the mark. [Hollan mark e, page 308]
ProvenanceVendor: Mrs. Blanche M. Webb, Charlottesville, VA