Spoon (Teaspoon)

  • Title:

    Medallion pattern

  • Category:

    Metals

  • Creator (Role):

    Ball, Black & Company (Retailer)

    John Rudolph Wendt (Designer and maker)

  • Place of Origin:

    New York, New York, United States, North America

  • Date:

    1862-1871

  • Materials:

    Silver

  • Techniques:

    Stamped

  • Museum Object Number:

    2022.0010


  • Complete Details



Object Number

2022.0010

Object Name

Spoon (Teaspoon)

Title

Medallion pattern

Category

Metals

Credit Line/Donor

Gift of Charles J. Robertson III

Creator (Role)

Ball, Black & Company (Retailer)

John Rudolph Wendt (Designer and maker)
1826-1907

Place of Origin

New York, New York, United States, North America

Origin Notes

After 1859 Ball, Black & Company's building was at 565-567 Broadway at the corner with Prince's Street in Manhattan.

Date

1862-1871

Mark or Signature or Inscription or Label

1. Mark; Handle, underside; "BALL BLACK && CO" stamped incuse
2. Mark; Handle, underside; "STERLING" stamped incuse
3. Mark; Handle, underside; "PATENT / 1862" in rectangle

Subjects

Classical

Materials

Silver

Techniques

Stamped

Dimensions (inches)

6 (L)

Dimensions (centimeters)

15.24 (L)

Object Description

Web - 05/05/2022

The name of the designer and maker of this influential spoon handle is absent from the silver itself, but John R. Wendt’s oval medallion with volutes and a rosette was the origin of an enduringly popular American silver pattern. The teaspoon’s handle tip features what Wendt called an “antique medal” (profile of a man’s head in a Phrygian cap) that most closely resembles his patent drawing dated May 13, 1862. This bust of Attis or Ganymede is uncommon, as Wendt’s workshop rapidly incorporated different profiles from antiquity while producing silver for several retailers in New York and Philadelphia. Within two years competing silver manufacturers began creating diverse and elegant variations on Wendt’s theme. Medallion ornaments on silver flatware and hollowware appealed to consumers with classically oriented tastes well into the 20th century.  

Bibliography and Bibliographic Notes

[Book] Venable, Charles L. 1994 Silver in America 1840-1940 A Century of Splendor.
Biography: pp. 323 and "Rogers" p. 321.
[Book] Soeffing, Donald Albert. 1988 Silver Medallion Flatware.
Biography pp. 76-78; Patent p. 98-99
[Article] Cramer, Diana. 1992 John R. Wendt of Boston and New York. Silver Magazine. (May-June): 12-13.
Alternate marks, p. 13