Large Handmade Spoon - Was This A Thing?

I found this clearly handmade spoon with no wear, so probably a project piece or something. At first, I thought it might be silver as it was covered in black, but now I think that is dirt. I know it is handmade because there is a mistake in the handle where a hole in one side was cut out, but the metal failed, so other side was punched but not cut. Because of the flaw, the handle remained unfinished.

It is 9 1/2 inches long. It weighs 5.6 grams. It has no mark. I'm thinking that there may have been a time where people made stuff like this that would help me date it. Does anyone know?

 

It doesn't appear anything was cut out,it was cast and the 2 parts of the mold were not tight where the filled area is.

https://www.google.com/search?clien...KsJegUIigEQAQ&ictx=0&biw=1172&bih=612&dpr=1.3

 

Yes, cast, and very roughly at that. I wonder why they finished the bowl of the spoon if the rest wasn't up to standard though?

 

Nice spoon, Kiko. It looks like a commemorative spoon to me, or some important life event.
We have baptism and other commemorative spoons here but they are more 'refined' and not as big. The motif on yours reminds me of Baltic motifs.

I'll tag @DragonflyWink for you.

 

Is that a maker's mark in pic #7?

 

Well spotted, Happy. There is a round impression, I'll see if I can tweak it.

 

This is the best I can do, maybe Kiko can take a closeup pic:



Kiko, this is where the mark is:

 

I get the impression that is from a salad serving set. The other piece would be similar but with prongs cut into the spoon.

 

Big spoons (and forks) were a "thing" in the 70's, I think. People had them hanging on the wall in their kitchens, made out of wood, steel, iron, rattan, etc. For the most part, they were utterly useless and could reach ungainly lengths. Kiko's spoon is attractive, but I'd rather not be mixing a salad with all those points jabbing into my palm.

 

Excellent observations as usual. I thought the place was a break. Thanks for link. I don't know anything about spoon molds.

 

Thanks for the confirmation about how it was made. I like the idea of melting metal poured into a mold. Perhaps they didn't notice the flaw until after they polished the bowl.

 

I picked it up because it was very confusing to me. As you said it was unrefined but clearly ornate. I see what you mean about Baptism spoons they are small and delicate. I will have to research Baltic later when I get home tonight. Thank you.

 

Ohhhhhh. I will have to look more closely at home. Since I thought it was punched out not poured I just assumed this was a piece left in when the other side broke. Great spotting.

 

Great try. I'll work on it when I get home later in the day.

 

Dutch ones are made to commemorate a baptism, they aren't used to baptise. They are a tad bigger than regular spoons.

 

Thank you I'll focus there.

 

The casting, to be honest, is rather crude, obviously a sand casting, and not a very good one unfortunately. You can see the lack of finish in the insides of the design. Lost wax casting is far superior in most cases and would have resulted in a much better result. I wonder why this wasn't done, as it saves a lot of file work and finishing afterwards.
As a metal worker, the poor finish of the casting is obvious, so it is puzzling why they put the work into finishing the bowl of the spooon.

 

I tried at different angles and lights, but it doesn't look like a mark to me. What do you think?

 

Interesting thought. I've seen that kind of set. Thank you.

 

The 70s make sense. Lots of crafting going around then. I did my share of macrame. Thank you.