IY JY 18th c. ladle Have you seen this mark?

[Francais]

HI
I will try to post a few of my favorite puzzles. This one is a very large ladle marked 3 times with IY or JY. I would be interested in hearing from anyone who has or has seen this mark.

[Jag]

If you're interested in guesses, I would start by noting that the heel on this spoon looks more decorative than functional. I have a couple 19th century spoon with similar decorative heels. So if I put this ladle in the 19th century, then I would guess James Albert Young (1843-1888 a Providence manufacturing jeweler). Another possibility is John Burnett Young (1815-1859) but he seems to have been more of a merchant. I don't know of anywhere that has their marks, though.

[Francais]

I am not sure what you mean "heel" If you mean drop. That is a variation on a French style drop, usually found on late 18th c. or early 19th c. spoons where French influence existed i.e. Philadelphia, Mississippi Valley, etc.

[Jag]

Yes, wrong term, I meant drop. My point is that just because an object seems stylistically to be of a certain age, it may not be. In this case the drop looks more decorative than functional and therefore could be more of an attempt to invoke an earlier style. It could have been a 19th century version of an older style. If that is the case it opens up a number of makers who you otherwise would disregard such as the ones I noted - both from wev's database. Hopefully he will chime in on your other pieces as well.

[Francais]

Hi
Sorry, again I don't know what you mean by "functional". The only function I can find associated with a drop, would be to reinforce or thicken the connection between the handle and the bowl. Of course I have the advantage of having had the ladle in hand, but the ladle is 18th c. I would accept something like 1805 if it was from some rural part of the South or Midwest where sometimes styles continued later. Of course there are always exceptions where someone makes a spoon to match an earlier set, I have had several examples of this, but there is no reason to think this is one of them. I also am a firm believer in patina. While you can't say a piece is 100, 200, 300, or 400 years old just based on patina, but if a 400 years old piece has the same patina as a 100 year old piece then there is something wrong. Take my word for it the ladle screams 18th c.