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Object Timeline

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1985

  • We acquired this object.

2002

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2025

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Object ID #18803873

This is a spoon. It is dated 18th century and we acquired it in 1985. Its medium is silver, gold. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.

Cutlery sets with hand-painted, gilded porcelain handles were often used for the dessert course at refined tables. The cutlery displayed is arranged as it might have been for dessert. (Tools for the Table, 1993).

This object was donated by Eleanor L. Metzenberg. It is credited The Robert L. Metzenberg Collection, gift of Eleanor L. Metzenberg.

Its dimensions are

L x W x D: 19.4 × 4 × 3.5 cm (7 5/8 × 1 9/16 × 1 3/8 in.)

It has the following markings

On back of spoon bowl: [1] two crossed swords, "12" between the blades, "D" between the sword handles, horizontal line across swords, stamped (mark for Dresden?) (see: Tardy, Silver, 198, p.36; Dresden, 1730) [2] "G", stamped (year mark?) [3] "TM", stamped (maker's mark?) [4] zigzag line, incised (assayer's test mark)

It is signed

Unsigned

It is inscribed

Uninscribed

Cite this object as

Object ID #18803873; Germany; silver, gold; L x W x D: 19.4 × 4 × 3.5 cm (7 5/8 × 1 9/16 × 1 3/8 in.); The Robert L. Metzenberg Collection, gift of Eleanor L. Metzenberg; 1985-103-187

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Feeding Desire: Design and the Tools of the Table, 1500-2005.

This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use page.

If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://www-4.collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18803873/ |title=Object ID #18803873 |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=6 February 2025 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>