William Tant 1761 ballerina spoon.....

[mk209]

I saw this beautiful spoon for sale and bought it. It intrigued me as it was sold as being adorned/engraved at a later date than when the spoon was made but I've had a really close look and it appears original? It measures 7 inches long and the widest part of the bowl is 1.5 inches. The depiction is possibly the famous ballet dancer Barbara Campanini 1721-1799. The spoon would fit into the part of her career when she was popular. Another thing I found whilst looking with a high power magnifying glass was this etched in script on the top back part of the spoon hardly visible at the side and looks to be old "12 xx P/0/" It's clearly been there a long time.

Just wondered if anyone can cast their opinion on it?




Matt.

[agphile]

I'm afraid I agree with the seller that this is probably an altered spoon. The shape, of the bowl in particular, is wrong for the 18th century. I have not come across this dancer figure on any other 18th century picture front spoon, but the Victorians re-shaped and re-decorated many 18th century spoons. Their workmanship was good so their enhancements are not immediately apparent to those who are not familiar with the designs that were prevalent in the earlier period.

Incidentally, I doubt that the dancer is Campanini. At least, her dress is not based on the costumes in portraits of the time. She looks to me more like a Victorian vision of a Bacchante or perhaps a lady of the harem.

The figures and numbers scratched on the back of the spoon are probably a code used by a jeweller or pawnbroker when the spoon came onto the secondhand market - to identify the spoon and the price.

This does not detract from the attraction of the spoon in my view.

[mk209]

I did wonder about the Campanini thing as you said dress is totally different. It's good to have a better opinion on this as I'm a recent collector so knowledge is basic at best.

Many thanks

[agphile]

In view of your comment that you are a recent collector I think I should add to what I said about the attractiveness of your spoon Most experts and experienced collectors would advise against buying any silver that has been altered or repaired. And indeed, if you think of a collection as an investment as well as an interest, altered pieces can prove problematic when it comes to selling. For example, unless somebody was selling off pieces from a set one by one, your dancer spoon had several outings over a fair period of time before it found a buyer. Of course, this doesn’t matter if you like the spoon and are not concerned about the possibility of a quick sale in case of need.

Many people regard all Victorian “enhancements” to silver as vandalism. I don’t agree. The so-called berry spoons can be quite attractive and the spoons would probably have been melted for scrap if they had not been recycled in this way. The re-working gave them a new life. Your spoon could be thought of in this sort of category.

On the other hand, earlier today I saw an early Newcastle tankard, once plain and attractive, that had been subjected to an abundance of Victorian, neo-rococo, repousse decoration and also had a spout inserted to convert it to a jug of some sort. It was now quite ugly. I could argue that it was interesting as being part of the history of taste in silver, not so different in principle from what happened to many spoons, but it still felt like vandalism.

I guess my point is that altered silver can be attractive, though not always, and it is reasonable to buy items you like, not just those that tick the boxes specified by others. However, it is generally advisable not to go overboard on altered pieces. They may come to seem mistakes as you acquire more familiarity with period styles.

[mk209]

This was certainly bought because I liked it and priced the same as any more common Georgian tablespoon so in that sense I'm very happy with it. Mostly I do steer clear of berry spoons and altered pieces but again a while ago I bought a beautiful set of tablespoons in gold wash, very finely engraved plus a sugar sifter to match which started life as an ordinary tablespoon. As you said a lot of pieces would have otherwise been melted down if not re-worked.

Whilst I get horrified at old pieces being recently machine polished and losing the original patina I can forgive those Victorians who in many cases finely re-worked some items :-)