Tea caddy spoon
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1822
This silver tea caddy spoon was manufactured in the Netherlands in 1822. It is stamped from a single sheet of silver and features a leaf-shaped bowl while remaining otherwise plain in design. The spoon measures 7.80 cm in length, 2.60 cm in width, and 1.50 cm in height.
The underside of the handle bears several struck marks, including a maker's mark recorded as WI with a star. Additional official hallmarks include a lion standard mark indicating .833 silver fineness, a helmeted head mark representing the assay office, and the date letter N denoting the production year of 1822.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- 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
A caddy spoon was made for taking and measuring dry tea from a tea caddy, typically proportioned to fit directly inside the container. English variants developed during the mid-18th century as tea caddies superseded Chinese tea bottles, featuring openings wide enough to fit a measuring spoon once the bottle's thimble top was no longer used as a measure. Unlike many other small silver articles exempted under the English Act of 1790, caddy spoons were required to be hallmarked. This object entered the collection as a gift from the Fitzhenry Collection.
Physical characteristics
- Material
- Silver, stamped from single sheet
- Dimensions
- Height: 1.50 cm; Length: 7.80 cm; Width: 2.60 cm
Technical characteristics
- Inscriptions
- Date: Text: Research required; Latest: Research required; Earliest: Research required; Note: Research required; Type: Research required; Medium: Research required; Method: Research required; Script: Research required; Content: Marks on underside of handle: Maker WI , standard (lion), for 833, helmeted head (assay office), date letter N for 1822; Language: Research required; Position: Research required; Inscriber: Name: Id: A8728; Text: Research required; Association: Id: Research required; Text: Research required; Description: Research required; Translation: Research required; Interpretation: Research required; Transliteration: Research required
- Maker recorded
- Unknown
- Place recorded
- Netherlands
Identification
- Source note
- Transcribed from the Victoria and Albert Museum collection record for this single object; how far it represents a wider collectible type has not been independently verified.
- Museum object name
- Tea caddy spoon
- Museum object number
- 1337-1902
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.