| My other coin silver piece is a master salt spoon. It features a cast, three-dimensional Cockchafer (a beetle) screwed onto a rather plain handle. This example is completely unmarked. A similar beetle appears in William Hood, et al's bug flatware article in Silver Magazine. This insect motif, as well as the Gorham spider design, appeared around the same time as such more famous designs as Saxon Stag, Birds Nest, and the other figural animal designs of Gorham, George Sharp, Peter Krider, etc. Based on what I have seen on the market, the realistic insect/spider designs were, perhaps unsurprisingly, considerably less popular than other figural animals, as well as other naturalistic motifs like figural branches and flowers. |
