Oval white porcelain medicine spoon with decorative handle, flat bottom and curved edges; spoon bowl with plain covered area with small opening at the tip and wider at the handle; small handle with a leaf decoration at its bottom to provide stability so the spoon will stand; edges along spoon cover…
Oval white porcelain medicine spoon with decorative handle, flat bottom and curved edges; spoon bowl with plain covered area with small opening at the tip and wider at the handle; small handle with a leaf decoration at its bottom to provide stability so the spoon will stand; edges along spoon cover, handle, sides, openings are lined with gold strip; bottom is unglazed with handwritten lot number in brown ink.
Number Of Parts
1
Provenance
Collected by Maryanne Szuck and Alice Roeder.
Dates
1850
1900
circa 1850-1900
Date Remarks
Research
Material
ceramic: white
ink: gold, brown
Inscriptions
On bottom: "SC /20"
Permanent Location
Storage Room 0010
0010-A8-3
Length
7.9 cm
Width
3.8 cm
Height
2.8 cm
Unit Of Measure
centimeters
Condition Remarks
Minor crack on sppon cover; gold faded; wear on bottom
Copy Type
original
Reference Types
Documents
Book
eBook
Internet
Reference Comments
Allison, Eileen Michael. Ceramic Invalid Feeders, Pap Boats, and Baby Bottles of the 19th & Twentieth Century. Canada: E.M. Allison, 1997.
Bennion, Elisabeth. Antique Medical Instruments. London: Sotheby Parke Bernet Publications by Philip Wilsons Publications, 1979.
Campbell, Gordon. The Grove Encyclopedia of Decorative Arts. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2006. 2006. Accessed August 18, 2016. http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195189483.001.0001/acref-9780195189483
Collected by Maryanne Szuck and sister Alice Roeder, a retired nurse. The collection consists of various eras and types of invalid / infant feeders, infant milk bottles, medicine spoons, urinals and reference material.
By the early 19th century medicinal spoons were becoming more accurate measuring devices. Normally made out of silver, or pewter these items usually had a cover and long spout for blowing the medicine through at the opposite end for administering medicine to the mentally unstable, elderly and invalids. By the mid 19th century, the design had evolved into small oval spoons, with a partial cover. The delicate handles normally had an elongated portion at the base to stabilize the spoon on flat surface. Initially produced in porcelain, these elaborately decorated spoons were then produced en masse in earthenware ceramic material and transfer pattern prints. This cheaper production cost meant this design was widely accessible and very popular for most social classes.
These were also used to feed infants or as a dose medicine.