Rare and precious 17th century Indo-Portuguese silver handled spoon of Turbo marmoratus mother-of-pearl bowl. The iridescent shell of this marine gastropod species, common in Gujarat, was much appreciated in Europe from the mid-1500s onwards.
This particular format of spoon, of shallow oval shaped bowl, follows contemporary European prototypes. The cabriole handle, adorned with three raised rings, is topped by an ungulate foot. A simulated slit and a small protruding head close to the bowl end, simulate a rivet. In the original prototype, a hinge would effectively articulate the shaft, folding it onto the bowl concavity. The model however, most certainly copied from a drawing or print, was not fully understood by the artisan, who failed to replicate this detail.
The mother-of-pearl bowl fits into a double faced, stylized trefoil silver piece of engraved decoration, being fixed by two rivets in the same metal.
Spoons were the most abundant cutlery types on royal and princely tables, becoming highly relevant throughout Europe in the 16th century, as the various foods were mainly eaten in small portions or in stews. They were also used to serve sugar or spices, both expensive goods stored in purpose built and portable containers.[1]
Turbo marmoratus mother-of-pearl objects such as spoons and forks, imported into Lisbon by Portuguese merchants and often exported to other European courts[2], would occasionally be mounted in silver on arrival to the Old Continent.
“Ungulate foot” spoons are extremely rare. Some examples dating to the Greco-Roman period[3], have been recorded particularly in Pompey. From the 14th century onwards they are well documented in Holland, often appearing depicted in Dutch still-life paintings.[4]
Contemporary examples can be found described in the 1596 inventory for Archduke Ferdinand II of Tirol Kunstkammer, and in the Musée National de la Renaissance collections at Écouen.
This 17th century small but important spoon, of short and ergonomic silver handle, Indo-Portuguese in character, was probably produced for an Iberian aristocrat or high dignitary.
Teresa Peralta
[1] MOORE, Simon Moore, Spoons 1650-2000, Oxford, Shire Publications Ltd., 2014, p. 13.
[2] SILVA, Nuno Vassallo e, A Herança de Rauluchantim, Lisboa, C.N.C.D.P., 1996, p. 137.
[3]SHERLOCK, David, Roman Folding Spoons, London and Middlesex Archaeological Society, https://www.lamas.org.uk/images/documents/Transactions62/089-098 Folding Spoons.pdf.; E.M., CH. F. Klijn, Eet – en sier- lepels in Nederland Tot ca. 1850, De Tijdstroom, Lochem, 1987, p. 15.
[4] Willem Claesz. Heda, Un Dessert (c. 1637), Louvre Museum (Inv. no 1319).