MONKEY SPOONS
FUNERAL STYLEIf you have not read the introduction to these spoons on the index page, please do so before proceeding
The vast majority of monkey style spoons appear to have been made for use at a funeral.
In historical silver books there is an example of a Dutch funeral spoon dating to the mid 1600's which was
given to pall bearers.
Supposedly a lot of these spoons were made, but extremely few have survived (I only know of one).
The spoons pictured here do NOT resemble the mid 1600 era funeral spoon which looked like a conventional spoon(see link above).
These "monkey" spoons do not look like conventional spoons and are best described as silver folk art.
As you look at these spoons, certain patterns keep re-occurring. For example, we will often see fruit
portrayed in the bowl. This is traced to an old Nordic/Viking funeral tradition wherein fruit and a hen or cock was provided
for use in the afterlife. (see note)
These spoons have a finial that we call the 'weigher of souls' (wos) (see below) (for lack of a better term)
1. repousse/chased oblong bowl featuring a woman with a goat and windmill. the shield appears to be a flower urn and the finial is the (wos)
Dutch lion 2nd quality lion mark and manufacturer mark
2. repousse dot pattern bowl with a death angel shield and wos finial
three untraced marks
3. repousse/chased bowl featuring the Roman goddess Justicia and the letters ' MM' in the bowl. Urn shield and wos finial
Example of the Weigher of Souls,
A Roman Catholic concept wherein the Angel Michael is presumed to be at the deathbed and acts to protect the soul from Satan.
He is charged with assisting the dying and in their private judgments and eventually presenting them to God.
1. Repousse/chased bowl of a man kneeling on a prayer rug and he appears to have some type of back pack.
the shield is the angel of death and a wos finial. Two untraced marks
2. Small repousse and chased art nouveau designs to the back of the spoon, no shield and wos finial
London foreign import marks for 1821 and silversmith JGI
3. repousse/chased bowl of a woman milking a cow, urn shield and wos finial
one untraced mark
4. repousse beaded pierced bowl with an urn shield and wos finial.
Dutch key/lion over stamp quality mark and untraced manufacturer marks
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY has a similar spoon in their collection.
They have labeled it as a 'sugar spoon' which makes no sense since it has cutouts in the bowl
But you can look at it here
They have dated their spoon from 1705 - 1825 by Jan Pereboom
1. repousse/chased bowl picture of a man in a top hat meeting a lady in formal dress. putti boss and unidentified finial , 830 silver with two unidentified marks
2. repousse/chased bowl of an overweight man in high bowler hat standing near a streetlight. The moon has a face on it. Fruit at bottom, cherub boss, unidentified finial
two unidentified marks
3. Repousse/chased bowl of a jester sitting on a bench, two trees and two fruit below, putti boss and unidentified finial
two unidentified marks (same as #2)
4. repousse/chased scene of a man pulling a dog by a leash and he is also holding a whip, buildings in the background, putti boss, finial is broken off
two unidentified marks
5. repousse/chased bowl of a woman carrying a bucket yoke and a village scene, cherub boss, unidentified finial, Dutch lion 2nd quality silver mark and unidentified mark.
This is an example of the finial on these spoons which I have not identified (suggestions?)
This is one of the better examples and some of the others are less defined.
These spoons also have this strange finial and oval boss
1. repousse/chased bowl of woman with a bucket yoke, and man carrying something along with a village scene.
Dutch 2nd quality silver mark and unidentified mark
2. repousse/chased bowl of three geese? in a line with houses in the background.
London sterling import marks for 1898
3. Repousse/chased bowl depicting a boat and harbor scene with a cow. two unidentified marks
4. Repousse/chased bowl depicting a woman with a bucket yoke and a cow with fruit below. no silver marks
5. Repousse/chased bowl depicting a man on horseback approaching a house. 3 unidentified marks
6 Repousse/chased bowl depicting a woman with a bucket yoke, a cow and a calf and a church steeple. Two unidentified marks
1. Repousse/chased bowl depicting a woman with a bucket yoke and two cows. finial is a bird. Three unidentified silver marks
2. repousse/chased pierced bowl depicting a standing woman in nice dress. no boss, finial is a bird. three untraced marks
3. Repousse/chased bowl depicting a woman with a bucket yoke, a deer and a fawn? along with a church steeple, no boss, finial is a strange looking horse.
Dutch 2nd quality silver marks and two unidentified marks
4. Large repousse/chased medallion spoon. This is different than the one shown on the large monkey spoon exhibit (new window so you can compare), but is obviously the same manufacturer
squirrel finial. Dutch lion/key mark
5. oblong repousse/chased pierced bowl depicting a man with two cows and farm buildings. the chasing work on the cows is really well done. The finial is a squirrel
One French Minerva silver mark
6. small repousse/chased bowl featuring flowers in a vase. Unusual shaped shield and a duck finial. no marks
7. Repousse/chased bowl featuring a boat and harbor scene. The boss is a flower vase with flowers and gardening tools. The finial is a dog. two unidentified marks
These spoons have a funeral boss and an archer finial (see below)
1. repousse/chased bowl featuring a man on horseback talking to a standing man with fruits below
one unidentified mark
2. Repousse/chased bowl featuring a farmer holding a pitchfork with farmhouse scene. 4 unidentified marks
3. Repousse/chased death symbol with art nouveau styling, two unidentified marks
4. repousse/chased bowl death scene with a man holding an anchor (death at sea?) with art nouveau styling. 4 unidentified marks
5. Repousse/chased horse and rider with trees and buildings. 2 unidentified marks
6. Repousse/ chased shell scene with art nouveau styling. 6 marks (one appears to be a Dutch key)
7. Repousse/chased harbor scene with foreground ducks, boat, buildings. 2 unidentified marks
I am not sure of the archer symbology. I suspect that the archer is shooting the 'soul' to heaven. The first and third ones appear to have angel wings.
I am also not sure of the 'snake'? symbology
All of these spoons have an archer finial (see pictures above)
1. repousse/chased bowl depicting a woman with a bucket yoke and a cow and fruit. Marked HH in bowl
prob H. Hartman or H. Hooykaas of Schoonhaven
2. repousse/chased bowl depicting a woman with a cross (death scene). one untraced mark
3.
4. repousse/chased bowl featuring a woman with a bucket yoke and a cow (very similar to #1) with fruit below. 800 silver with three untraced marks
5. repousse/chased bowl depicting a child on a swing surrounded by art nouveau designs. 800 silver with two untraced marks
6. repousse/chased bowl of a windmill and farmhouse. no silver marks
7. repousse/chased bowl with a stag surrounded by a laurel wreath. The bowl appears to be silver and has three untraced marks. The handle is a yellowish metal
and I suspect it is probably some alloy of copper
left:
1. repousse/chased bowl of harbor scene with ducks in the foreground. putti boss. cock finial. 2 untraced marks
2. repousse/chased bowl of standing girl holding a duck (goose?) with fruit below. putti boss. cock finial. 3 untraced marks
top:
1. and 2. Repousee. chased detailed theater scene with a winged angel holding a cup and a plump woman walking a dog. The very detailed background
appears to show a theater style curtain. Both spoons show an identical scene but there are minor differences including the size of the bowl..Both marked as 800 silver
with two more untraced marks which look the same except for being slight different in size. Both spoons have the same putti boss and standing lion finial
bottom:
1. repousse/chased bowl with a male carrying a bucket yoke and a cow with fruit below (very similar to #1 in the previous picture), putti boss and standing lion finial. 2 untraced marks
2. repousse/chased bowl depicting a shepard with 4 sheep and a rising (setting?) sun. Very good workmanship. putti boss and cock finial. 2 untraced marks.
right:
1. repousse/chased bowl depicting a farmer behind a horse drawn plow. putti boss and standing lion finial. no marks
2. repousse/chased bowl depicting a harbor scene with two ducks in foreground similar to other spoons shown.. putti boss, cock finial. 2 untraced marks
1. repousse/chased deep bowl of a ship in a stormy sea. finial is a squirrel. 3 untraced marks
2. repousse/chased bowl of a man standing near a tree and greeting another man who is near a building with fruit below.cock finial. 1 untraced mark
3. repousse/chased deep bowl depicting a man approaching a door which is below a huge windmill . finial is a squirrel. Dutch key overstamp purity mark and 3 other marks
4. large repousse/chased bowl depicting a man with a cane walking to a house with large trees on the right. hen finial. one untraced mark
5. repousse/chased bowl of a windmill with art nouveau decorations. the boss is a crown and the finial is a duck. French minerva silver mark and Dutch lion silver mark and 2 other marks
6. repousse/chased bowl of woman with a bucket yoke and a pig? with fruit below. squirrel finial. 3 untraced marks in bowl
7. repousse/chased bowl of kneeling man and a dog with fruit below. cock finial. 1 untraced mark.
8. oblong repousse/chased pierced bowl depicting a woman with a bucket yoke, houses and windmill. squirrel finial. no marks
9. repousse/chased bowl of a man standing near a tree and greeting another man who is near a building with fruit below.cock finial. 1 untraced mark (similar to #2)
10. repousse/chased pierced oblong bowl depicting a boat and harbor scene. bird finial. no marks
This image is from the Metropolitan Museum collection. They give the following information:
Sugar spoon
Maker:Jan Pereboom (1725–1805, master 1751)
Date:last quarter 18th century
Culture:Dutch, Leeuwarden
Medium:Silver
Dimensions:Overall: 6 15/16 × 5 15/16 in. (17.6 × 15.1 cm)
Classification:Metalwork-Silver
Credit Line:Rogers Fund, 1913
Accession Number:13.42.106
Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings
Marking: [1] tree within an oval (cameo) (maker's mark of Jan Pereboom, Leeuwarden, b. 1725, master 1751, d. 1805);
[2] dolphin (cameo) (Dutch tax mark for old and locally made silver in use between 1859 and 1893).
Location of marks:
[1] On the front of the stem just above the bowl.
[2] On the back of the stem just above the bowl.
"Prayer Cards: Funeral/mourning gifts were a common custom in Colonial-era America and beyond. Common gifts given to the mourners who attended were gloves, scarves, rings, and spoons. The rings bore inscriptions typical to the time period (e.g. “Prepare for Death”) and were often handed from one generation to the next as family heirlooms. The spoons were called “monkey spoons” because of the curved hook on the handle end, and were often custom made for the event with funerary imagery or saints engraved in them."
(http://mccreryandharra.com/wp/2018/02/16/behind-the-burial-traditions-part-2/)
From a funeral history slide show
(http://slideplayer.com/slide/3797854/)
Return to Monkey spoon index
Return to spoon planet exhibits index
notes:
From the description of an old Viking funeral
"Then they disinterred the chieftain and gave him new clothes. In his grave, he received intoxicating drinks, fruits and a stringed instrument. The chieftain was put into his bed with all his weapons and grave offerings around him.
Then they had two horses run themselves sweaty, cut them to pieces, and threw the meat into the ship. Finally, they sacrificed a hen and a cock.