Souvenir spoon: Berlin marriage
Germany, probably Berlin
1905
Measurements
4-3/4 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
1971.1132
Inscription
“BERLIN” is below the two family crests in the handle tip. "800" and unidentified maker's marks are on the back of the handle tip.
Provenance
Ex coll. Mrs. E. Tatnall (Mary Corbit) Warner
Comments
The crown and two shields on the handle tip relate to the Mecklenburg and Hohenzollern families of Germany. Although the two families had intermarried previously, they did so again in 1905 when Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz married Frederick William III of Prussia. They are pictured together in the bowl. This event likely occasioned the manufacture of this souvenir spoon.
Upon the defeat of Germany in 1918, rule by the two families ended with the establishment of the Weimar Republic.
The maker’s marks on the back appear to incorporate “800,” which indicates silver purity of 800/1000.
Bibliography
Accumulation & Display: Mass Marketing Household Goods in America, 1880-1920 (The Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, 1986), no. 174, p. 135.
