Burnell and Rowe

Description

Here we have a very large George III Scottish Sterling Silver Basting Spoon in the Oar pattern. Oar is a variant on the Fiddle pattern that has no shoulders on the stem above the bowl and is most commonly found in Scotland. The spoon has the initials M H elegantly engraved at the top of the stem.

Basting spoons, sometimes called gravy spoons, were the largest size of spoon and were intended for use in the kitchen, primarily for basting a joint of meat during cooking. Today they mostly used for serving large dishes at the dining table.

This basting spoon was made in Edinburgh by Ziegler and dates to 1809. Ziegler may be either Alexander Ziegler or John Ziegler, or possibly Alexander John Ziegler. Unusually the mark is simply the letter Z so nobody is quite sure about his first name. He was a specialist spoon maker who was active in Edinburgh in the first decade of the 19th century during the reign of George III.

Condition is very good with just one truly tiny ding in the bowl plus the superficial surface wear that you would expect from over 210 years service in a kitchen. Please make sure to view all the photographs.

The spoon measures 31.9cm / 12.56ins in length and weighs in at a substantial 93.9g / 3.31oz of solid Sterling Silver.

The hallmarks, on the underside of the stem, are a little rubbed but still clear to read. They show the thistle for Scottish Sterling Silver, the three towered castle assay mark for Edinburgh, the date letter d for 1809, the George III duty mark and the Z makers' mark for Ziegler.

Shipping in the UK is £10 by Royal Mail Special Delivery, which includes cover for the value of the spoon.
Overseas customers, please ask us about shipping costs to your country before making a purchase.