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Spoon holder
Vincent LaForme (American, born in Germany, 1823–1893)
Retailed by: Lincoln & Foss (active 1847–1858)
Retailer: Albert L. Lincoln (died in 1903)
Retailer: Charles M. Foss (died in 1892)
Retailed by: Lincoln & Foss (active 1847–1858)
Retailer: Albert L. Lincoln (died in 1903)
Retailer: Charles M. Foss (died in 1892)
about 1854
Object Place: Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Medium/Technique
Silver
Dimensions
Overall: 14 x 9.5 cm (5 1/2 x 3 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Miss Martha May Eliot and Miss Abigail Adams Eliot
Accession Number1971.313
CollectionsAmericas
ClassificationsSilver hollowware
Cups similar to this were used to store the numerous silver spoons likely to be owned by well-to-do households at midcentury. Placed on a sideboard or table, spoonholders held a small cache of flatware for ready use.
The motif of acorns and oak leaves that decorates this goblet appeared on numerous wares marked by Vincent Laforme. Similar decoration rings a large salver engraved with an inscription of 1857 as well as two teapots and the creamer and sugar bowl of a five-piece tea set made after 1854.1 The spoonholder was sold by Lincoln & Foss, a Boston retailer (see cat. no. 224).
This text has been adapted from "Silver of the Americas, 1600-2000," edited by Jeannine Falino and Gerald W.R. Ward, published in 2008 by the MFA. Complete references can be found in that publication.
The motif of acorns and oak leaves that decorates this goblet appeared on numerous wares marked by Vincent Laforme. Similar decoration rings a large salver engraved with an inscription of 1857 as well as two teapots and the creamer and sugar bowl of a five-piece tea set made after 1854.1 The spoonholder was sold by Lincoln & Foss, a Boston retailer (see cat. no. 224).
This text has been adapted from "Silver of the Americas, 1600-2000," edited by Jeannine Falino and Gerald W.R. Ward, published in 2008 by the MFA. Complete references can be found in that publication.
DescriptionThis raised tulip-shaped body sits on a short-stemmed domed foot encircled with a garland of repousséd and chased floral decoration. On the body, crisp oak leaves and acorns set in relief against a punched background frame an engraved inscription. The edges of the base and rim are beaded.
Marks
“LINCOLN & FOSS” within a rectangle struck above center point. Below are the incuse pseudohallmarks, quality, and place marks of an eagle in shaped cartouche, an eagle in shaped cartouche, and “L PURE COIN / BOSTON.”
InscriptionsIn script in a reserve on the front "A. E. Homer / from / A. Adams / -1854.- "
ProvenancePresented to Anne Elizabeth Homer (b. 1830) of Boston by A. Adams; the goblet descended in the Homer/Adams/Eliot families to sisters Dr. Martha May Eliot (1891 – 1978) and Dr. Abigail Adams Eliot (1892 – 1992), the donors.