Deep Thoughts on Early Condiment Spoons and The Mustard Caster

Item 33 in Christopher Hartop's Geometry and the Silversmith: The Domcha Collection is a trio of attractive octagonal baluster casters by John Chartier made in 1719 (50).  The large caster is 7 7/8 inches tall and the pair of smaller casters is 5 7/8 inches tall by 2 1/4 inches in diameter (Ibid.).   Below is a photograph of these same casters for sale with S.J. Shrubsole:

Set of three casters by John Chartier, London, 1719.  Photograph courtesy of S.J. Shrubsole.

Mr. Hartop notes that "[i]t is evident that these sets of casters were used for sprinkling ground substances on food..." and states that sugar is the likely candidate for the large caster and mustard and ground pepper for the smaller (Ibid.).  However, he notes that "the idea prevalent among silver writers that mustard was sprinkled as a powder on to meats is not documented (Ibid.).  Mr. Hartop then cites contemporary descriptions of mustard as being mustard seed mixed with other ingredients to make a paste, and suggests that, because some smaller casters have "blind" covers, it was the paste version of mustard that was served from them (50-51).

If it was the case that powdered mustard was not used and that mustard paste was, how was the mustard paste transferred from the caster to the diner's plate?  Since the covers were blind, the diner could not pour the mustard through the piercing onto his or her plate.  Even if the caster were not blind, this method would seem to have been fairly messy.  This suggests that the diner had to remove the top of the caster in order to get at the mustard.  Where, then, did the top go?  A possible answer is found in a photograph in Michael Clayton's Christie's Pictorial History of English and American Silver.  This photograph shows a cruet frame of 1719 holding glass bottles and three silver casters of 1724 (104).   Cruet stands typically have a lower surface that the containers rest on, as well as elevated rings of silver to hold the containers in place when the stand is picked up by its central handle.  The photograph in Clayton's book shows two rings of silver without a lower surface, and in one of these rings rests the top of a caster (Ibid.).  So, it would appear that the lid to the mustard caster would be set into one of these rings.

There must have been a spoon for dipping the mustard out of the caster.  I assume that each guest was not provided with their own mustard spoon, meaning that the spoon stayed in the caster.  The spoon, of course, would need to be tall enough to stand above the caster rim.  Mustard spoons and small ladles are widely found from the George III period, but they don't seem as numerous from earlier periods.  Millicent Ford Creech has for sale what is described as a rare early 18th century Hanoverian rattail mustard spoon.  It is 2 1/2 inches long (which doesn't seem tall enough to stand above the caster rim, so perhaps this smaller spoon was rested on a small dish or the diner's plate after use and did not stand in the caster).  David Whitbread, in the  20/05 edition of The Finial , discusses early tea and condiment spoons and illustrates several from his own collection.  What I find interesting and very practical is his statement that, "...as well as using [them] for tea, earlier owners could have also used [them] to eat sweetmeats or a boiled egg, to take medicine and for any other purpose appropriate to [their] size" (10).  Those in his collection that have "outsize bowls" he has been told are condiment or spice spoons (11).  David McKinley, in a follow-up article to Mr. Whitbread's in the 20/06 edition of The Finial, also says that a large bowl in proportion to overall spoon size has been said to indicate its use as a condiment spoon, but is unsure why this should be the case (8).  Perhaps these spoons with the outsize bowls were mustard spoons used with these early casters, but it could just as well be the case that small spoons we know as teaspoons could also have been employed for the purpose.

Is it possible that black pepper and cayenne pepper were used in the non-blind casters in a set of three?  Perhaps, but there are order accounts which imply that sugar, pepper, and mustard were the great triad of caster condiments: In 1689, William Fitzhugh of Virginia ordered from London "a Sett of Castors that is to say for Mustard, Pepper & Sugar (Hartop 50); and the Earl of Orford was sent "sugar pepper and mustard casters" (51). 

If mustard paste was served from a caster, was it the resulting inconvenience that caused the silver mustard barrel/pot to come into being?  In 1724, Horatio Walpole was issued two mustard barrels and two spoons from the Jewel Office (Hartop 51).  Walpole also received two mustard glasses in this order (Ibid.).  I am not sure if these mustard glasses were inserts for the silver mustard barrels, or if they stood as mustard containers on their own, perhaps used when dining en famille.  Mr. Hartop notes further that by the third quarter of the 18th century, the mustard caster was being replaced by the mustard pot (Ibid.). 

Sources:
 Clayton, Michael. Christie's Pictorial History of English and American Silver.
       Oxford: Phaidon Christie's Limited, 1985. Print.
Hartop, Christopher. Geometry and the Silversmith: The Domcha Collection.
       Cambridge: John Adamson, 2008. Print. 
McKinley, David. "Further Thoughts on Early 18th Century Small Spoons." The Finial 20/06 (Jul/Aug 2010): 8.   
      Web. 17 Aug 2014.
Whitbread, David. "Trefid Tea and Condiment Spoons." The Finial 20/05 (May/June 2010): 10-11. Web. 17 Aug 2014.

Early Irish Silver Teaspoons (Where are They?) and Streets Named For Dublin Silversmiths

Lately, I have increased the number of teaspoons in my collection and have enjoyed using the little utensils.  This evening, it's the trefid:

All of my teaspoons, save the trefid, are Hanoverian rattails.  While stirring my tea, thinking about silver (as one does), a thought occurred to me: Why have I never come across an early Irish rattail teaspoon?  Early English rattail examples are relatively easy to find, but in the retail setting - and in the fairly limited books I own and museums I have visited - I have not seen even one early Irish teaspoon.  Even knowing that early Irish flatware is not as profuse as its English counterpart, I would have expected to have seen at least one or two early Irish examples.  Does anyone know of any early Irish teaspoons out there?

Now, on to another topic concerning Irish silver.  In a Lot Note from Christie's, I read the following statement with interest: "David King was one of three Dublin goldsmiths honoured for his services to the trade by having a street named after him."  Since Christie's doesn't mention the other two goldsmiths, I was curious to find out who they are.  While there is a South King Street and a North King Street, an entry in Weldon's silver blog states that South King Street is our man.  Weldon's blog describes Mr. King as a "superb early silversmith" and illustrates examples of his work.  David King was Master of the Company of Goldsmiths from 1699-1700 and was a member of the lower house - the Sheriffs and Commons - of the Dublin Corporation, now known as the Dublin City Council.  Mr. King became a freeman in 1690 and died in 1737 (Bennett, 147).

Photo of the Gaiety Theatre on South King Street.  Photo courtesy of GraftonStreet.ie

The second Dublin silversmith I found to have had a street named after him is Jeremiah D'Olier.  Douglas Bennett (142) tells us that Mr. D'Olier was born in 1747, became a freeman in 1770 and was elected Master of the Company of Goldsmiths in 1781.  Like David King before him, Mr. D'Olier was elected to the Sheriffs and Commons, and he was made a Sheriff's Peer in 1790 (Ibid.).  He was a founder of the Bank of Ireland and, according to Wikipedia, a member of the Commissioners for Making Wide and Convenient Ways, Streets and Passages, which you can read more about here.  Mr. D'Olier died in 1816.

D'Olier Street.  © Copyright Eric Jones and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

I thought I was stumped on the third one, until I re-read Chapter 7 of Douglas Bennett's Collecting Irish Silver, which identifies Thomas Bolton as the third man.  According to Bennett, Thomas Bolton was made a freeman in 1686, was Master of the Company of Goldsmiths from 1692-1693, and was the Assay Master between 1692 and 1697 (139).  Henry F. Berry, in a paper published in The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Dublin (127) notes that on November 1, 1696, Thomas Bolton presented the Company of Goldsmiths with a large green tablecloth as a gift.  I suppose the premises needed some sprucing up.  When the new Goldsmiths Hall was being built, the Company decided to sell some of its plate - two silver bowls with covers and two large silver cups - to go towards the cost of the hall.  Thomas Bolton was the purchaser (131).  One wonders if Bolton kept these items for personal use, or sold them.  Thomas Bolton also made a loan of 200 Pounds to the Company to help with expenses of the new hall (McCormack, 116).  In 1716, Mr. Bolton was elected Lord Mayor of Dublin.  The Company of Goldsmiths presented a pair of cups engraved by Jonas Heaven to Mr. Bolton valued at 35 Pounds to mark the occasion (Bennett, 135).  However, towards the end of his life, Mr. Bolton experienced money troubles.  In 1730, he applied to the Company for a pension, and "our reduced brother" was given 10 Pounds a year until his death in 1736 (McCormack, 116).  For a more in-depth look at the life and work of Thomas Bolton, see John McCormack's article from the Irish Arts Review.

Dublin Institute of Technology building on Bolton Street.  Photo courtesy of Flukey's Virtual Walking Tour of Dublin

Sources:
"Antique Irish Silver Maker's Marks from A-L." Weldons of Dublin, 25 July 2013. Web. 12 Aug 2014.
Bennett, Douglas. Collecting Irish Silver. London: Souvenir Press Ltd., 1984. Print.
Berry, Henry F. "The Goldsmiths' Company of Dublin (Gild of All Saints)." The Journal of the Royal Society of 
     Antiquaries of Ireland 6.5 (1901): 119-133. Google Books. Web. 13 Aug 2014.
"D'Olier Street." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 29 Dec 2013. Web. 12 Aug 2014.
McCormack, John. "The Sumptuous Silver of Thomas Bolton (1658-1736)." Irish Arts Review 11 (1995): 112-116. JSTOR. Web. 13 
     Aug 2014.

Reunited and it Feels so Good: a Set of Three Rattail Teaspoons

About a year ago, I purchased this Britannia-standard teaspoon:

Britannia-standard teaspoon, Samuel Hitchcock, London

Close-up of hallmarks and initials

The teaspoon was made by Samuel Hitchcock, who, according to Jackson's Silver & Gold Marks, entered his first mark in 1713 (164).  From general research it appears that Mr. Hitchcock was by and large a spoon maker.  The back of the teaspoon is crudely initialed "EI."  The one feature on this teaspoon that stands out is the shape of the punch around the lion's head erased.  To date, I have not seen the lion's head erased in the same shield-shaped punch...that is, until about a week ago.

About a week ago, I spotted a pair of Britannia-standard teaspoons by Samuel Hitchcock.  Not only is this pair engraved with the same crude "EI," but they are also marked with the lion's head erased in the same shield-shaped punch.

Here is the pair of teaspoons:

Front and back of pair of Britannia-standard teaspoons, Samuel Hitchcock, London

Close-up of hallmarks and initials on pair of teaspoons

I always keep an eye out for spoons or forks that match those I already have, but the closest I've come is finding a set of tablespoons with the same stork crest, but the maker and date were different.  Now, of course, I'm convinced that there are three other teaspoons out there matching these just waiting to be found.  The hunt is on!

Together again at last

Sources:
Pickford, Ian, ed. Jackson's Silver & Gold Marks of England, Scotland & Ireland. 3rd ed., 1989. Woodbridge: 
       The Antique Collectors' Club, Ltd., 2011. Print.

The Use of the Britannia Standard After 1720

In 1696, 396 years after the standard for silver plate was established, a law was passed which decreed that beginning March 25, 1697, all plate had to be made of silver with a fineness of 11oz. 10dwts. of silver in every pound Troy (Pickford 38).  This meant that any piece of plate should have been composed of 95.8% fine silver.  However, as Mr. Anthony Dove points out in his article in the November/December 2007 issue of The Finial, this was not always the case.

This standard is commonly known today as the Britannia standard.  I am not sure what it was called back in the day (perhaps just the New Standard, or The Pain in the Butt Standard).  The Britannia standard was not obligatory after June 1, 1720 (Pickford 39), but some silversmiths chose to continue using the higher standard.  One of the most famous of these, I suppose, is Paul de Lamerie.  One has only to flip through Christopher Hartop's The Huguenot Legacy to see several examples of Lamerie's post-1720 work executed in Britannia standard silver (152, 158 162, 164).  Indeed, Judith Banister (25) tells us that Mr. de Lamerie continued to use the higher standard until 1732.

From my own collection, I can add that Jane Lambe and William Fleming also continued to work in the Britannia standard after 1720, although I don't know how long either of them did so.  Following are photographs of a spoon from 1724 by Jane Lambe in the Britannia standard with a crest and motto of "Festina Lente," or "hasten slowly."  This spoon is of lovely quality and has a beautiful color and patina.  It is my only non-rattail spoon.

Britannia Standard tablespoon, Jane Lambe, London, 1724

Hallmarks, Jane Lambe, London, 1724, and close-up of crest and motto

Following are photographs of a milk jug by William Fleming of 1722 in the Britannia standard.  This little milk jug is, I have to say, absolutely charming.  It is beautifully made and feels wonderful in the hand.  I love the shape of it.  Although my little Lamerie tea bowl is my favorite piece of silver, this jug runs an extremely close second.

Milk jug, William Fleming, London, 1722

Close-up of hallmarks on milk jug, William Fleming, London, 1722

According to Ms. Banister, although tea was originally taken plain, it became popular to take warm milk or cream in tea in the 1720s (Plate 54).  This seems to be corroborated by Eric Delieb (81), who notes that milk jugs originated in the early 18th century but really took off after 1720. 

I was able to find a couple of other examples of post-1720 work by Jane Lambe and William Fleming in the Britannia standard.  One is a basting spoon by Jane Lambe from 1723 and the other is a tankard by William Fleming also from 1723.  Other examples I found of post-1720 Britannia standard silver wares are a coffee pot by John Hugh le Sage of 1722; a snuffer tray by John Pero of 1722; a very similar cream jug by Nathaniel Gulliver of 1723 in Harvard's Fogg Museum; the Treby toilet service by Paul de Lamerie of 1724 in the Ashmolean; and a sauce boat by Anthony Nelme of 1725.  So, it would seem that the practice of using the Britannia standard after 1720 wasn't exceptional, and that several silversmiths continued to do so.

Bonhams sold a cream jug by Thomas Mason of 1725 in the sterling standard.  Take a look at the handle.  It appears to be the same handle as that on my jug.  Were there silversmiths who specialised in providing other silversmiths with items such as cast handles, finials, etc.?

For those silversmiths who continued using the Britannia standard after it ceased to be compulsory, was it their choice to do so, or did their clients request it?

Sources:
Banister, Judith. English Silver. New York: Hawthorn Books, Inc., 1966. Print.
Delieb, Eric. Investing in Silver. New York: Clarkson N. Potter Inc., 1967. Print.
Hartop, Christopher. The Huguenot Legacy: English Silver 1680-1760 from the Alan and Simone Hartman
       Collection. London: Thomas Heneage & Co. Ltd, 1996. Print. 
Pickford, Ian, ed. Jackson's Silver & Gold Marks of England, Scotland & Ireland. 3rd ed., 1989. Woodbridge: 
       The Antique Collectors' Club, Ltd., 2011. Print.

Irish Silver in San Antonio, Texas

What better way to celebrate my birthday than to take a trip to the San Antonio Museum of Art to view its fantastic collection of Irish silver?  Guess what I didn't do?  Take photographs of the silver.  I'd like to attribute this omission to the fact that I was so overwhelmed by the beauty and rarity of the silver before me, but perhaps it has more to do with old age...

There were several pieces that especially caught my attention on this visit: the little cream jug by William Clarke of Cork circa 1725; the slip top spoon of 1655/56 engraved with the arms of the Stephens family of County Waterford; the covered sugar bowl by Peter Racine of 1736/37 that is just three inches tall; the pair of small tankards by Thomas Walker circa 1730, which sit on flat non-footed bases (I don't recall seeing a tankard without a foot); the two pairs of salts by John Hamilton circa 1730, which look like four small footed bowls instead of the more prevalent trencher type; the herb pot by Thomas Walker circa 1735, which is just exquisite in its smallness, with its tiny wooden handle and finial (you can have your very own one of these, as Weldon's has one for sale); and the four horseshoes given as racing prizes made by James Le Bas in1843.

One piece of silver in the collection, a flask by Thomas Walker circa 1740, is engraved with an inscription of "The Gift of / Will.m Jocelyn Shaw Esq.r / To / Gorges Lowther Esq.r."  This piece is of especial interest because I have a silver box presented by the Dublin Corporation of Weavers to Gorges Lowther.  You can read more about this box in an earlier posting here.  Not knowing any better, I can only assume that the flask and the box were presented to the same Gorges Lowther, Esq.  Another surprise was seeing a presentation box in the museum with the same arms engraved on the lid as on mine.  The museum's box was presented by the Corporation of Sheermen and Dyers (which must have been a subsidiary of the Corporation of Weavers, since it used the same arms) to Luke Gardiner.  The box is also by James Kennedy, and dates to circa 1775.  The style of the engraving on the museum's box is very much the same as that on mine.

In a previous post, I discussed a pair of Irish octofoil salvers separated at birth, one of which is in the San Antonio Museum of Art collection.  The other is with a private dealer and is listed as being unmarked.  After viewing the salver in the museum, however, it seems likelier that the salver with the dealer was marked, but that the hallmarks have worn away.  I posit this because of the three marks present on the museum salver, only John Hamilton's maker's mark of "IH" is discernible, and even then this mark is worn and the crown surmounting the initials is completely worn away.  One can see that there are two other marks present (the harp crowned and the date letter), but these are likewise extremely worn.  So, it is possible that the salver with the dealer was not originally an unmarked piece.

Seeing so many stunning and unique objects of silver in one place is almost overwhelming, in a very good way.  I didn't know where to look first.  Thank goodness my husband and I were the only ones in the gallery, as I just kept up a running commentary about the pieces and how wonderful they were, and how the engraving on a piece seemed to be later than the date of manufacture, and how I wished I owned this piece or that, etc., etc.  I often complain that Texas is devoid of good silver shops (there was a good one in Salado - they had a lovely Lamerie tankard - but they closed down due to the owners' health issues; the owners said that years ago, they had decided to purchase silver as an investment and that selling their collection over time had supported them financially), but how lucky Texans are to have such a world-class collection of Irish silver in their state.  And it's all thanks to Mr. John V. Rowan, Jr., who amassed these lovely pieces and donated them to be displayed at the San Antonio Museum of Art.

Irish Silver Rattail Spoon

Every once in a while, eBay searches do turn up some interesting silver spoons.  This is one of them, an Irish rattail tablespoon dated 1723:

Irish rattail spoon, Dublin, 1723

Close-up of crest and hallmarks.  Maker's mark I?

The spoon is actually a bit ugly.  If you look at the first photograph, you can see that the spoon bowl is not symmetrical.  The right side of the bowl extends much further past the stem than the left, which is more obvious in the photograph depicting the reverse of the spoon.  The central rib on the front of the spoon is deeper than that on its English counterparts, as is usual on Irish spoons.  From what I have observed, Irish tablespoons of this period are nine times out of ten longer than English spoons.  This one measures 8 1/4 inches in length.  The weight is fine, being 69 grams, and the crest is interesting, appearing to be a dragon or a griffin out of a mural coronet.  I haven't been able to attribute the crest to a particular family.  The maker's mark could be "IT" in a heart for Joseph Teafe, although, in Collecting Irish Silver, Douglas Bennett says that Teafe "made a large quantity of spoons from 1725 to 1748" (154).  Mr. Bennett does not state when Joseph Teafe was made a freeman of the Goldsmith's Company, and since this spoon dates to 1723, it is possible that Teafe was making spoons prior to 1725.

The seller on eBay listed this spoon as dating to 1767.  While Irish tablespoons from this period aren't super-rare, there certainly aren't as many of them on the market as English spoons of the same date, so I was happy I decided to click on the listing and found that the spoon was much earlier.  I once bought a silver cream jug from eBay which was advertised as being Irish and free from any damage or repairs.  I couldn't quite make out the date letter or the maker's mark, which should have been a clue, but I decided I had to have it in hand to make up my mind.  The seller did advertise a return policy, so I bought it.  Upon receipt, it was very obvious that there had been a repair to the spout.  I was also not convinced that the hallmarks were quite right.  I contacted the seller right away, and he agreed to a full refund of the purchase price and the shipping costs I had initially paid based on the fact the piece was not as advertised.  There are pitfalls to buying on eBay, so caveat emptor, but there is some good stuff and some great sellers out there, too and so it should not be discounted or forgotten about as a source of items for one's collection.

Sources:
Bennett, Douglas. Collecting Irish Silver. London: Souvenir Press Ltd., 1984. Print.

Rattail Length on Early Hanoverian Spoons

Okay, ladies and gents, brace yourselves for a riveting posting on...rattail length.  This is not an in-depth study, but rather a comparison of the rattail lengths on the tablespoons in my collection.  The idea for this posting came about this morning as I was looking at a spoon I had just received in the mail (more about this new spoon later) and while looking at the back of the bowl, I began to think about rattail length, which prompted me to look at the rattails on my other spoons.  Following are photographs of the various rattails:

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

Fig. 3

Fig. 4

The spoon on the left in Figure 1 has the longest rattail, and I picture it again on the left in Figure 4 alongside spoons with the least amount of rattail remaining.  These spoons are all Britannia-standard (save the one on the right in Figure 4, which is an Irish example), and date from circa 1705 (the only dognose example) to 1718.  The Irish spoon dates to 1723.

At one point, did all my spoons have rattails as long as the super-long rattail, the termini ("terminuses" sounds odd to me, but I probably couldn't use "termini" in a conversation and keep a straight face, either) of which have worn away over time?  Having said that, the rattails of the spoons on the left and in the center of Figure 3 do appear to be complete, although not nearly as long as the super-long rattail.  From the photographs, one can see that the rattails are in various states of completeness, and in some cases, I can feel rather than see that the rattail continues. 

For someone who loves rattail spoons, I feel rather silly confessing that I don't quite know how the rattail part was made, meaning, was the rattail shaped and fashioned by hand, or was there some sort of casting process for the rattail?  If any of you can shed light on this, it would be much appreciated!