Souvenir spoon: Gibraltar

1890-1910

Measurements

4-7/8 in x 1 in x 5/8 in

Materials

Gold-washed silver and enamel

Credit Line

Historic Odessa Foundation, The David Wilson Mansion, Inc.

Accession Number

1971.1141

Inscription

“CALPE” is on the handle and “GIBRALTAR” is in the bowl.  “900” with two unidentified touchmarks are on the back of the bowl.

Provenance

Ex coll. Mrs. E. Tatnall (Mary Corbit) Warner

Comments

The handle of this elaborate spoon terminates in a shield like device containing an image of a simple three-tower or -turreted castle or hall that probably does not represent a real building. Below the castle is the name Calpe, used in ancient Roman for Gibraltar.  An architectonic handle attaches to the oval bowl.  It contains a rendering of Gibraltar with three square-rigged ships in the foreground and the identifying name along the bottom.

The 900 stamped into the back of the spoon represents the silver purity, namely 900/1000.