Twelve whip-ended and four Hanoverian pattern salt spoons
Leslie Durbin (1913 - 2005)
Category
Silver
Date
c. 1752 - c. 1758
Materials
Silver
Measurements
10.5 cm (length, whip-ended); 8.9 cm (length, Hanoverian)
Place of origin
London
Order this imageCollection
Ickworth, Suffolk
NT 852074
Summary
Sixteen salt spoons, silver, eight whip-ended probably by Frederick Kandler, London, circa 1752, four copies of the same pattern by Leslie Durbin, London, 1968/9 and four of the Hanoverian pattern by Paul Callard, London, circa 1758. A further four of the whip-ended spoons were lost whilst on exhibition in Germany in 1965. The whip-ended spoons (NT 852074.1-12) have cast shallow shell bowls and wavy stems and a forged whip end, bent over and coiled around the stem. One of the bowls of the 1750s spoons is a plain, later replacement. The four spoons of the Hanoverian pattern (NT 852074.13-16) are forged out of individual pieces of silver and have almost hemispherical raised bowls and tapering stems with an upturned terminal end and a single drop at the junction with the bowl. Heraldry: None on the whip-ended spoons. The underside of each terminal of the Hanoverian pattern spoons is engraved with the quartered arms of the Hanoverian monarchs (pre-1801) within the Garter and beneath an imperial crown flanked by the initials G R. Hallmarks: None on the eight 18th century whip-ended spoons. The four twentieth-century whip-ended spoons are marked on the reverse of the stem with maker’s mark ‘LGD’ in a rectangular punch with curved ends, date letter ‘n’, leopard’s head and lion passant. On the back of each stem of the Hanoverian pattern spoons is the maker’s mark ‘PC’ beneath two mullets and above a fleur-de-lis (Arthur Grimwade, London Goldsmiths 1697-1837, 1990, no. 2150). Scratchweights: None.
Full description
The whip-ended spoons (NT 852074.1-12) have always been associated with the Kandler salts (NT 852086). The pattern was developed in the early Rococo period and is seen on a set of teaspoons forming part of a tea equipage now at Temple Newsam, other items of which are marked by Paul de Lamerie and for 1735.[1] It is closely related to a drawing in the Victoria and Albert Museum, now attributed to Nicholas Sprimont [2] and is presumably what was being supplied to Lady Anne Cavendish by George Wickes in 1739 when she received ‘2 Twisted Salt Spoons’.[3] Such small, fragile items as salt spoons were exempted from hallmarking under the Plate (Offences) Act of 1738 [4] and their general vulnerability was demonstrated when four were lost whilst on exhibition in Italy and Germany in 1965.[5] The National Trust, after considering acquiring antique replacements, decided to commission copies and these were produced by the renowned twentieth-century silversmith Leslie Durbin, best known for his work on the contrastingly massive Stalingrad Sword of Honour.[6] The initial idea was that the replacement spoons would be of Durbin’s own design but ultimately it was decided to copy the remaining originals.[7] Durbin’s estimate, dated 20 June, 1968 totalled £43 7s.[8] The spoons were delivered in early July and James Tudor-Craig, then resident curator at Ickworth, forwarded the bill to the regional agent at Blickling, Nicholas de Bazille Corbin. The final cost came to £48 15s 8d but as the insurance payment had amounted to £97 10s, Tudor-Craig noted with some glee, ‘we are thus some £47 up on the deal’.[9] The four Hanoverian pattern spoons (NT 852074.13-16) survive from the set of six salt spoons delivered with the Hamon and Hennell salts (NT 852073) as part of the 2nd Earl of Bristol’s official allocation of plate as ambassador to Spain. They are miniature versions of Paul Callard’s soup ladles (NT 852099.51-2). For the associated salts see NT 852086 & 852073. James Rothwell, Decorative Arts Curator March 2021 [Adapted from James Rothwell, Silver for Entertaining: The Ickworth Collection, London 2017, cat. 47 & 68, pp. 131 & 152.] Notes: [1] James Lomax, British Silver at Temple Newsam and Lotherton Hall, 1992, cat. 125, pp. 122-7. [2] V & A museum number 2592. I am grateful to James Lomax for bringing this to my attention. [3] National Art Library, Garrard Ledgers, VAM 1 1735–40, f. 121. [4] Timothy Schroder, British and Continental Gold and Silver in the Ashmolean Museum, 2009, p. 314. [5] Ickworth House, archive files, copy letter from James Tudor-Craig to T. B. Burr, 17 February 1966. [6] Guardian, 1 March 2005, obituary of Leslie Durbin. [7] Ickworth House, archive files, copy letters from James Tudor-Craig to Leslie Durbin, 22 March 1966 and 15 May 1968. [8] Ibid., letter from Leslie Durbin to James Tudor-Craig, 20 June 1968. The detail of Durbin’s estimate was as follows: mould charge £10 10s; 4 spoons at £6 each £24; 8.75% Purchase Tax £2 2s; rail fares to Bury from London to collect the original for copying £1 10 and expenses £5 5s. [9] Ibid., copy of memorandum from J. Tudor-Craig to N. de B. Corbin, 19 July 1968. Exhibited: British Week, Milan and Frankfurt, 1965 (four of the whip-ended spoons).
Provenance
Whip ended spoons: George Hervey, 2nd Earl of Bristol (1721-75); by descent to the 4th Marquess of Bristol (1863-1951); accepted by the Treasury in lieu of death duties in 1956 and transferred to the National Trust. Hanoverian pattern spoons: Jewel Office; allocated to George Hervey, 2nd Earl of Bristol (1721-75) as Ambassador to Madrid 1758; discharged to Lord Bristol 9 April 1759; by descent to the 4th Marquess of Bristol (1863-1951); accepted by the Treasury in lieu of death duties in 1956 and transferred to the National Trust.
Credit line
Ickworth, the Bristol Collection (National Trust)
Makers and roles
Leslie Durbin (1913 - 2005), goldsmith Paul Callard, goldsmith probably Frederick Kandler, goldsmith