The final spoon
Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2020 6:56 am
I just finished the final spoon of 18 for the small exhibition in August.
This spoon was found in a local 'antiques' shop (read opp junk shop). I thought it would be a challenge to draw, and it was! Lots of indenting on this one. 250gsm Bristol smooth, Staedtler Mars graphite and Karat watercolour pencils.
the paragraph for the book is more of a history lesson than about the spoon, but I guess I was tapped for ideas:
Jam/Conserve spoon – WB + Co (William Briggs and Co) Sheffield. C.1900-1904 ‘Bramble’ pattern
The two common forms of silver plate are ‘Sheffield Plate’ and Electroplate. A cheaper substituted for sterling silver, traditional Sheffield plate was a sandwich produced by fusing thin sheets of silver above and below a base metal such as copper. Used for a variety of items from belt buckles to buttons to cutlery and candlesticks, plate became exceedingly popular in the mid-eighteen hundred. Previously the use of silver in household items was exclusively for the wealthy, but the large-scale manufacture of plated silver made it affordable for the burgeoning middle class as it was a fraction of the cost of sterling silver. Plate was superseded by electroplate and now Sheffield Plate items are in high demand as collector’s pieces.
Electroplating was developed simultaneously in Russia and England around 1839. Like the process of copper electroplating of printing press plates, a thin layer of pure or sterling silver is deposited electrolytically onto the surface of a base metal such as copper, brass, or nickel silver. The first patents for electroplating were awarded in Britain in 1840 and the process soon spread across the globe. EPNS (electroplated nickel silver) or EPBM (electroplated Britannia metal) were the most popular material for cutlery items until the development of stainless steel in the mid-20th century.
William Briggs + Co., of Sheffield were one of the early success stories. From 1875 until 1922 they specialised in fine silver and EPNS items that featured intricate die stamped patterns. This spoon here, another op shop find, dates from the later years of the factory production and features a detailed die stamped design on the handle and raspberry bramble bush in the bowl.
This spoon was found in a local 'antiques' shop (read opp junk shop). I thought it would be a challenge to draw, and it was! Lots of indenting on this one. 250gsm Bristol smooth, Staedtler Mars graphite and Karat watercolour pencils.
the paragraph for the book is more of a history lesson than about the spoon, but I guess I was tapped for ideas:
Jam/Conserve spoon – WB + Co (William Briggs and Co) Sheffield. C.1900-1904 ‘Bramble’ pattern
The two common forms of silver plate are ‘Sheffield Plate’ and Electroplate. A cheaper substituted for sterling silver, traditional Sheffield plate was a sandwich produced by fusing thin sheets of silver above and below a base metal such as copper. Used for a variety of items from belt buckles to buttons to cutlery and candlesticks, plate became exceedingly popular in the mid-eighteen hundred. Previously the use of silver in household items was exclusively for the wealthy, but the large-scale manufacture of plated silver made it affordable for the burgeoning middle class as it was a fraction of the cost of sterling silver. Plate was superseded by electroplate and now Sheffield Plate items are in high demand as collector’s pieces.
Electroplating was developed simultaneously in Russia and England around 1839. Like the process of copper electroplating of printing press plates, a thin layer of pure or sterling silver is deposited electrolytically onto the surface of a base metal such as copper, brass, or nickel silver. The first patents for electroplating were awarded in Britain in 1840 and the process soon spread across the globe. EPNS (electroplated nickel silver) or EPBM (electroplated Britannia metal) were the most popular material for cutlery items until the development of stainless steel in the mid-20th century.
William Briggs + Co., of Sheffield were one of the early success stories. From 1875 until 1922 they specialised in fine silver and EPNS items that featured intricate die stamped patterns. This spoon here, another op shop find, dates from the later years of the factory production and features a detailed die stamped design on the handle and raspberry bramble bush in the bowl.
