In our day it is hard to
imagine that one would spend an extensive
amount
of time creating a spoon, but the artists of this style did precisely
that.
They literally hand hammered a spoon from a piece of raw silver in the
old
style and forced the metal to conform to their vision. These are
one-of-a-kind
pieces that were meant to uplift the soul and to last an entire
lifetime.
The shapes are often much plainer than those found in the Art Nuevo
movement
and in some cases are more simple than the later Art Deco movement
which
was inspired, in part, by these dedicated craftsmen. In some cases they
deliberately left their hammer marks to show that the spoon was
hand-hammered.
(Note: some manufacturers quickly picked up on this style and developed
automatic
hammering machines.). There are subtle differences between the real
arts
and crafts hand hammered style and the machine produced look-alikes. It
is
possible to develop your "eye" to see these differences.
The "Arts and Crafts"
movement was a
reaction to
the disappointment that many artists had with the nature of machine
made
goods. These artists believed that machine created products lacked
quality
and artistic merit and demeaned the soul. The "Arts and Crafts"
practitioners
elevated their concerns to a moral level
and
developed
an extensive philosophy about the superiority of "hand
made" goods. This philosophy
is also known by other names such
as
Craftsmanship and extended beyond silver or spoons to comprise homes
(Wright),
Furniture (Stickley), Decorative items (Tiffany, Faberge) etc.
Most of the Arts and Crafts
silver output is in the art deco style
which
is much plainer than the earlier art nuevo and various Victorian
styles,
but the A & C craftsmen also looked at historical styles for
inspiration.
Matched
set of very unusual Arts and Crafts spoons
These
spoons are marked, but I have been unable to
trace the maker.
Note the hammer marks on these
distinctively made spoons by Shreve
Silversmiths,
San Francisco, which are made in the rare 14th century pattern. The
finials
on each piece are purposely different.
Very
Unusual Spoon and Fork Set
This very
"strange" hand made sterling spoon and fork
set is engraved on
back as being from the "cheerio man", Walt V. Buster and dated 1989
One of the few American
professional spoonmakers still actively
practicing
the Arts and Crafts style is Allan Adler of Los Angeles. Mr. Adler is
very
old now and produces only a few pieces for resale.
I have obtained this very cute
"snowman" Childs spoon and fork
set
by Allan Adler. (note: one reader believes that these are rabbits-- I
can
see what she is saying but they look like snowmen to me.)
Very cute
hand made copper spoon with a tobacco leaf
handle. Arts and Crafts
disciples often worked with materials other than silver. This spoon may
have
been designed as a "wine taster" as it has a small loop at the back
where
the leaf curls over. Another very similar piece has surfaced which
indicates
that it was "made in Rhodesia". So it is a rare African Arts and Crafts
spoon