Maker
John A. Cole (American, active 1830–1859)American, active 1830–1859
CultureAmerican
Titles
- Dessert Spoon (part of a set)
Datec. 1849
Probable placeNew York , New York, United States
MediumSilver
Dimensions6 7/8 in. length (17.5 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, gift of Audrey Jones Beck
Object numberB.88.17.3
Not on view
Explore Further
Department
Bayou BendObject Type
The fiddle-thread handle was patterned after an English design. The date of its earliest manufacture by American silver-smiths is not known; however, by 1796, the Philadelphia smith Joseph Richardson records the production of spoons with threaded handles.
Related examples: See B.88.16.1–.5, B.88.18.
Book excerpt: David B. Warren, Michael K. Brown, Elizabeth Ann Coleman, and Emily Ballew Neff. American Decorative Arts and Paintings in the Bayou Bend Collection. Houston: Princeton Univ. Press, 1998.
ProvenanceDr. Jasper Gibbs (1810–1876) and Laura Jane Drake Gibbs (1821–1855, m. 1839), and his second wife, Sallie Candler Gibbs (1839–1928, m. 1857), Mexia, Texas; given to their daughter Mary Gibbs (Mrs. Jesse H. Jones, 1872–1962); given to her granddaughter Mrs. John A. Beck (Audrey Jones Beck, 1924–2003), Houston; given to MFAH, 1988.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Engraved: Gibbs
Marked incuse: B&H
Marked: pseudohallmarks consisting of a head facing right, a lion passant, and C, each in a rectangle with canted corners [Belden 1980, p. 116, a]
Marked: pseudohallmarks consisting of a head facing right, a lion passant, and C, each in a rectangle with canted corners [Belden 1980, p. 116, a]
Cataloguing data may change with further research.
If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.
Joseph Loring
c. 1796
Silver
B.2006.27.1-.70
