Spoon
John Hull
(American (born in England), 1624–1683)
Robert Sanderson, Sr.
(American (born in England), 1608–1693)
1670–83
Object PlaceBoston, Massachusetts
Medium/TechniqueSilver
Dimensions3.9 x 11.5 cm (1 9/16 x 4 1/2 in.)
Credit LineGift of the Wunsch Foundation in Recognition of Kathryn C. Buhler
Accession number1983.134
On View
On viewClassificationsSilver flatware
Collections
A rare survival, this variant of the slip-end spoon is one of a group made during the early partnership of Hull and Sanderson. It is one of four spoons, each having a rectangular or otherwise faceted handle. Two of the spoons have an oblique slant at the tip, described in seventeenth-century records as being “slipped in les stalkes,” and one has a blunter, so-called Puritan-style end, in contrast to the bulbous tip on the Museum’s example. This spoon is about two inches shorter than the others, indicating that it may have been for a child.
This text has been adapted from "Silver of the Americas, 1600-2000," edited by Jeannine Falino and Gerald W.R. Ward, published in 2008 by the MFA. Complete references can be found in that publication.
ProvenanceMaria Clark (b. about 1840) of South Boston and her husband, Henry Greene; By descent to to their son Frederick Greene; thence to his niece Florence A. Bessey (1906 – 1997) of Maine; 1983, sold by Florence Bessey to the MFA. (Accession date: Feb 9 1983)
