Last week I wrote about spooners. This week a bit about the history of English spoons. In English silver, the spoon is of ancient origin and dates back to the time of the Egyptians. Until around the middle of the 17th century the bowl of the spoon was more or less fig-shaped with the narrowest part near the short stem. The stem was generally round or square and terminated in a knop of different forms, such as an acorn, a diamond point or a sitting lion with legs upright. Between 1625-1649 the bowl became broader next to the stem and narrower at the end. By 1660 the bowl became ovoid. In about 1660 a spoon was introduced which had a flat thin stem. The stem was wider than ony of the earlier stems and the stem end was much wider and thinner than the other part of them stem. The stem end was divided into three parts and the spoon was called a trifid-end spoon. At the end of the 18th century the end of the stem became considerably thicker and rounded but still curved forward. Around the second quarter of the 18th century a spoon was introduced which had the stem end curled back in the fashion of an Ionic volute. This design was called the Onslow pattern. The curving back of the stem end became the general form during the third quarter of the 18th century. The stem end was rounded as in the earlier spoons. This pattern became known as the Old English pattern and has continued until the present time. This information is from The Dictionary of Antiques and the Decorative Arts. Examples of these spoons may be found in the book or online at stores selling English silver.
