Souvenir spoon: 1902 British Coronation
Birmingham, England
Date letter for 1902
Maker
Phineas Harris Levi and Joseph Wolfe Salaman (1876-c. 1921)
Measurements
4-1/4 in x 7/8 in x 1/2 in
Materials
Silver with a gold-washed bowl and cloisonné enamel
Credit Line
Historic Odessa Foundation, The David Wilson Mansion, Inc.
Accession Number
1971.1205
Inscription
"CROWNED 1902 / DIEU ET MON DROIT ["God and my right"] is in blue bands on the handle tip. "CORONATION CHAIR" is in raised lettering in the bowl. “RDNO371236” registry number, “L&S” maker's mark, and Birmingham touchmarks with a “c” date letter in a shield are stamped into the back of the handle.
Provenance
Ex coll. Mrs. E. Tatnall (Mary Corbit) Warner
Comments
This spoon commemorates the crowning of Edward VII (1841-1910) and Alexandra of Denmark (1844-1925) as King and Queen of Great Britain on August 9, 1902. The detailed portraits in the handle are atop the lion and unicorn of the Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom. “God and my right,” visible in Latin, is the official motto of the British monarchy and is part of the Coat of Arms.
The spoon depicts the Coronation Chair, commissioned in 1300 to house the Stone of Scone, the sandstone block used as a seat for crowning Scottish monarchs. The chair retains remnants of its gilding. It stands on a base of four lions added in 1727. The chair is housed in Westminster Abbey.
Bibliography
Accumulation & Display: Mass Marketing Household Goods in America, 1880-1920 (The Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, 1986), no. 171, p. 134.
