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Dutch cream spoons (roomlepels) aka 'monkey spoons'...
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<p>[QUOTE="DragonflyWink, post: 9872047, member: 111"]A few weeks ago a member of a silver discussion group asked me to provide information on the 'monkey spoon' story since I've been gathering it for over twenty years - thought I'd share it here as well.</p><p><br /></p><p>When I was an active dealer, I sold quite a few of these eccentric Dutch spoons over the years, usually called 'monkey spoons' in the US, they're actually cream spoons, but will admit to including the term as a keyword when selling, the misidentification is just so widespread. These are the four that remain in my collection:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]495477[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]495478[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]495479[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]495480[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>The first two are wrought, without cast handles and elements - the first has an 1871 date mark, 2nd standard lion (.833), Minerva-head w/'F' (Leeuwarden), the maker's mark looks like '10' or '18' over 'R'; the second has an 1892 date mark, 2nd standard lion (.833), Minerva-head w/'F' (Leeuwarden), the maker's mark is obscured; the third bears Hanau pseudo-marks attributed to Neresheimer, 1898 London import marks for John George Smith; the fourth has a 2nd standard lion (.833), maker's mark is 'JPN' over '1', used 1899/1900 by J.P. Niekerk (Schoonhoven), the other marks likely covered by an old repair.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Dutch cream spoons (roomlepels) date back to the mid-late 18th century. The 'monkey spoon' story here in the US seemed to start from 19th century articles on the New York Dutch that included mention of only a single 1749 funeral where eight pallbearers were given 'monkey spoons' - various suppositions regarding these particular spoons were written through the 19th and into the mid 20th century, guessing they might be apostle spoons with unclear detail and perhaps a distortion of 'monk-spoon', or a skull (not uncommon on memento mori spoons) that resembled a monkey head, and other theories.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]495484[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>There were a number of references for years, and then an 1890 magazine article, starting with an anecdotal reference to a Dutch silver dealer, and an embellished story, showed illustrations of roomlepels as 'monkey spoons' (prior to this article, the various features like the hooked handles, decorative elements, scenic bowls, etc. don't appear to have been mentioned elsewhere), this article was referenced in later publications. The article was cited in Stutzenberger's 'American Historical Spoons' (1971), and Rainwater, an excellent researcher (without the internet!!!), but not infallible, also placed the dubious information in her 'Spoons Around the World' (1976), the story became more widespread, and it's also been on an error filled website for many years, plus online sales descriptions, so it just keeps spreading. The 'monkey spoons' mentioned at the 1749 funeral were much more likely similar to those in the 1937 Yale article I've posted below.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]495486[/ATTACH]</p><p>[ATTACH=full]495487[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]495488[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]495489[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>To accept the 'monkey spoon' story, one would have to believe that the Dutch are completely mistaken in their knowledge regarding these spoons, and since the story originated with the account of a 1749 American funeral, American silversmiths would have to be producing these spoons before or around the earliest possible time they might have appeared in the Netherlands, and if so, seems some might be found with American maker's marks, or at least fully described, but they just don't seem to exist. The numerous examples of roomlepels found typically have proper Dutch hallmarks, and since 'historical' pieces also became popular tourist items in the late 19th-early 20th centuries, they're commonly found bearing pseudo-marks, both Dutch and Hanau, and British import marks as well.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>~Cheryl[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="DragonflyWink, post: 9872047, member: 111"]A few weeks ago a member of a silver discussion group asked me to provide information on the 'monkey spoon' story since I've been gathering it for over twenty years - thought I'd share it here as well. When I was an active dealer, I sold quite a few of these eccentric Dutch spoons over the years, usually called 'monkey spoons' in the US, they're actually cream spoons, but will admit to including the term as a keyword when selling, the misidentification is just so widespread. These are the four that remain in my collection: [ATTACH=full]495477[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]495478[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]495479[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]495480[/ATTACH] The first two are wrought, without cast handles and elements - the first has an 1871 date mark, 2nd standard lion (.833), Minerva-head w/'F' (Leeuwarden), the maker's mark looks like '10' or '18' over 'R'; the second has an 1892 date mark, 2nd standard lion (.833), Minerva-head w/'F' (Leeuwarden), the maker's mark is obscured; the third bears Hanau pseudo-marks attributed to Neresheimer, 1898 London import marks for John George Smith; the fourth has a 2nd standard lion (.833), maker's mark is 'JPN' over '1', used 1899/1900 by J.P. Niekerk (Schoonhoven), the other marks likely covered by an old repair. Dutch cream spoons (roomlepels) date back to the mid-late 18th century. The 'monkey spoon' story here in the US seemed to start from 19th century articles on the New York Dutch that included mention of only a single 1749 funeral where eight pallbearers were given 'monkey spoons' - various suppositions regarding these particular spoons were written through the 19th and into the mid 20th century, guessing they might be apostle spoons with unclear detail and perhaps a distortion of 'monk-spoon', or a skull (not uncommon on memento mori spoons) that resembled a monkey head, and other theories. [ATTACH=full]495484[/ATTACH] There were a number of references for years, and then an 1890 magazine article, starting with an anecdotal reference to a Dutch silver dealer, and an embellished story, showed illustrations of roomlepels as 'monkey spoons' (prior to this article, the various features like the hooked handles, decorative elements, scenic bowls, etc. don't appear to have been mentioned elsewhere), this article was referenced in later publications. The article was cited in Stutzenberger's 'American Historical Spoons' (1971), and Rainwater, an excellent researcher (without the internet!!!), but not infallible, also placed the dubious information in her 'Spoons Around the World' (1976), the story became more widespread, and it's also been on an error filled website for many years, plus online sales descriptions, so it just keeps spreading. The 'monkey spoons' mentioned at the 1749 funeral were much more likely similar to those in the 1937 Yale article I've posted below. [ATTACH=full]495486[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]495487[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]495488[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]495489[/ATTACH] To accept the 'monkey spoon' story, one would have to believe that the Dutch are completely mistaken in their knowledge regarding these spoons, and since the story originated with the account of a 1749 American funeral, American silversmiths would have to be producing these spoons before or around the earliest possible time they might have appeared in the Netherlands, and if so, seems some might be found with American maker's marks, or at least fully described, but they just don't seem to exist. The numerous examples of roomlepels found typically have proper Dutch hallmarks, and since 'historical' pieces also became popular tourist items in the late 19th-early 20th centuries, they're commonly found bearing pseudo-marks, both Dutch and Hanau, and British import marks as well. ~Cheryl[/QUOTE]
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