Baluster top spoon
The custom of presenting a silver birth spoon (geboortelepel) to a child at his christening gave rise to the expression "to be born with a silver spoon in one’s mouth." Cherished as family heirlooms, such spoons could be inscribed with the name or initials of the recipient and his birth date. The style was often highly localized; those made in Zierikzee, an important fishing and trading city in the coastal province of Zeeland, usually have a baluster-shaped finial, square stem, and fig-shaped bowl with engraved decoration.
Artwork Details
- Title: Baluster top spoon
- Date: first quarter 17th century
- Culture: Dutch, Zierikzee
- Medium: Silver
- Dimensions: Overall (confirmed): 8 3/4 × 2 1/2 × 1 in. (22.2 × 6.4 × 2.5 cm)
- Classification: Metalwork-Silver
- Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Samuel P. Avery, 1897
- Object Number: 97.2.44
- Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
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first quarter 17th century
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