Souvenir spoon: Mormon

1890-1910

Measurements

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

Materials

Silver with a gold-washed bowl

Credit Line

Historic Odessa Foundation, The David Wilson Mansion, Inc.

Accession Number

1971.1227

Inscription

“MORONI” and “UTAH” are on the face of the handle;  “MORMON TABERNACKLE / SALT LAKE CITY” is in the bowl.  “STERLING” and “H” within a recessed circle are on the back of the handle.

Provenance

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

Comments

The handle of this demitasse-sized spoon reproduces the twelve-foot-high sculpture of the Angel Moroni, made for the top of the Mormon temple and installed in 1892.  Moroni first appeared to Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, in 1823 and subsequently. The sculpture was formally dedicated in 1893 which is the likely time for production of this souvenir spoon.  The spoon bowl shows the domed, oval building was erected between 1863 and 1875 for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as Mormons.

The maker of the spoon, whose mark is a sanserif “H” in a circle, remains unidentified.