Spoon, enamelled silver gilt, Netherlands, 1430
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
ca.1430
Some richly decorated objects were intended for display rather than use. The painted enamel used on this spoon was technically difficult and therefore much prized.
The quality and material of this spoon suggest that it must have been the property of a person of rank and not intended for daily use.The bowl shows an ape riding a stag through a forest, in a playful scene from a lost romance.This scene is closely related to similar scenes on an enamelled cup, 'The Monkey Cup', in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The colours and distinctive technique of the enamel make it very likely that they were made in the duchy of Burgundy in the 15th century. Spoon, silver, silver gilt. Enamelled on the bowl with a monkey riding through a forest, the back of the bowl with scrolling foliage, all painted in a palette of grey, black, white and highlighted in gold.
The handle with an animal mask adjoining the bowl, the shaft decorated with bands of niello, and terminating in an oval knop.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 4
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Historical context
Charles the Bold Exhibition RF.2006/635 Spoons are among the earliest domestic objects. As opposed to dishes or knives which were shared, spoons were treasured individual possessions. The quality and material of this spoon suggest that it must have been the property of a person of rank and not intended for daily use.
By the mid 15th century the duchy of Burgundy was the major centre for the production of a specific variety of pictorial enamel in a style of grisaille, perhaps extending to Brabant and Flanders subsequently. The work was on small objects of silver or silver-gilt with a dark grounding over which white enamel was partly applied. Highlights were added in liquid gold.
Physical characteristics
- Material
- Silver, silver gilt; enamel; niello
- Dimensions
- Height: 24.6 cm; Width: 5.1 cm; Weight: 0.04 kg (Measured for the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries)
Technical characteristics
- Place recorded
- Netherlands, France
Identification
- Source note
- Transcribed from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London collection record for this single object (sentences kept verbatim apart from removed sale or rarity wording); how far it represents a wider collectible type has not been independently verified.
- Candidate id
- vam-O69209
- Museum object name
- Spoon
- Holding institution
- Victoria and Albert Museum, London
- Museum object number
- C.2-1935
- Museum system number
- O69209
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Research required: confirm the wider type, maker and dating against a specialist reference; this entry documents one recorded example.