A Victorian Essential… the Spoon Warmer???

A Victorian invention, of course, considered one of the essential “fancies” to every well-run household, the spoon warmer was very popular. One of a variety of articles created for the demanding and expanding middle class. Silver was seen as a measure of social status and the status conscious were eager to display their new found wealth. There could never be too many objects, you know, as dining rooms were meant to impress. So many glistening objects piled up on sideboards and dining tables, their legs must have quivered under the weight of it all. Spoon warmers were created in the days before central heating when breakfast consisted of hot porridge and the dinners needed to remain warm. Ceilings were high and their rooms drafty. Grasping a warm spoon must have seemed comforting. So little is known about spoon warmers today and not many people care, but it was an essential of its time. How could a proper house function if a warm dish suffered the affront of a cold stuffing spoon?

Most spoon warmers are made from silver plate. They were filled with boiling water and left on the table. All serving spoons were placed in it until needed, enabling them to remain warm before scooping into some rich dish.

There is considerable variation in design, some quite plain and others detailed and whimsical. The most common form is the nautilus shell. Other spoon warmers continue the theme of the sea taking the shape of an oyster shell, a buoy, a barrel and even the Greek god Triton, though I have never laid eyes on the latter, many nestled in a base elaborately embellished to look like rocks entwined with small seashells and seaweed.

My grandmother had an incredible one in the shape of a swan, I am told. The wings curving over the back hiding the slot for the spoon. I never had the chance to see it. Sadly, both she and the swan-shaped spoon warmer were gone before I came along.

They were made in huge numbers by the English but by only one maker here in America, Reed and Barton. Not all spoon warmers are marked so it makes it difficult to determine the maker.

A buoy complete with an anchoring chair fastening it to the rocky base. Shoddy image, my apologies. I took this from artfact. I have this one but it is packed away in storage.

This is the most typical spoon warmer. Christies (NYC) sold this Edwardian version by William Hutton & Sons, London, made 1904 in July 2002.

Alderfer Auction sold this one December 2001. Similar as above but with and etched decoration. Unmarked.

Also from my own collection, Atkin and Brothers last quarter 19th century.

For the lucky Irish, Charlton Hall Galleries, Inc. sold this in April 2006. It has three leaf clovers. Circa 1900 by Mappin & Webb. (My mother has this one...)

In the form of a shell resting on a fish. Available from Goldsmith & Perris.

Atkin Brothers, circa 1885, unfortunately sold by Estate Silver Co. Ltd - Anthony Mammon.

I am crazy for this one! I have one of an oyster shell but it is no where a fabulous as this. I love how the little clam sits as if almost alert wanting to say something on a rocky base. There is engraving of seaweed around the opening for the spoon. See more views of it here on Wax Antiques to see the detail of the seaweed on the base. No apparent maker. Circa 1880. Someone has already bought this.

Any turtle fans? Brunk Auctions sold this in May 2003.

A dolphin resting on crested waves. Sold at David Lay Frics Auction House, Alverton, Penzance, in January 2007. I don't like the patina on this one. The silver looks dipped at a later time.

Cannon Spoon Warmer By Elkington Made By Elkington & Co., 1880 (personal collection).

" I Dream of Genie". (What a sexist show, by the way). Available at iFranks circa 1870, by the London maker William Hutton. Note the decorated handle and reed borders around the lip and foot. Maker unknown, c. 1880, in the form of a cornucopia. Available from New Orleans Silversmiths.

Another goodie from Wax Antiques. Circa 1870.

Another one I'm crazy for. It is in the shape of a gondola with two oars resting on the base. Though the form reminds me more of a Viking ship. And the quality of this piece is reportedly particularly good. Circa 1880. Sold, ARGH!, from Wax Antiques in London.

In the form of an old shoe. I believe still available from Estate Silver Co. Ltd - Anthony Mammon. Is anyone else uncomfortable with the idea of sticking a spoon in something that is supposed to look like an old smelly crusty shoe?

My favorite designer… Christopher Dresser (1834-1904). The true father of modern design created this very mod Spoon Warmer in 1881. It has an ebony handle and made by Hukin & Heath, Birmingham. (I snagged this image from artnet.) This is my most favorite. Kind of reminds me of a spaceship.

In our efficient warm homes today the need for spoon warmers has passed but there are a number of different ways they can still be used – tucked into a book shelf, displayed on a fireplace mantel, stuffed with sprigs of spring flowers. An interesting and relatively inexpensive oddity to collect.

TH Robsjohn-Gibbings Limos chairs in natural ceruse finish and a breakfast table by De Coene Freres, Belgium, c. 1930. Stuart Weitzman Nuhyper boots.