Spoons, Pair of trifid spoons with portrait of Queen Anne

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  • Maker: Unidentified
  • England
  • 1702-1714
  • Pewter; silver (silvered pewter)
  • 1953-1083,1

A 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.

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