Summary
Horn spoon. Handle has silver heart shaped mount engraved "WS". Identified by the donor, Mrs Margaret Beaton, as Scottish in origin. The spoon was transferred to Museum Victoria from the National Gallery of Victoria in 1940, and is likely to have already been rare and old at that time. It is likely to date to the 19th century.
A horn spoon dating to 1877 held by the Highland Folk Museum, Scotland, may shed light on this Scottish horn spoon and other Scottish horn cutlery held by Museum Victoria. It 'represents the importance of the contribution of the 'travelling people' to the everyday life of Highland rural communities. They used the resources of the environment around them to create all sorts of domestic and working goods such as horn spoons, heather mats, pot scrubbers, woven creels etc. As well as working on the land, the travellers also excelled in metalwork from tinsmithing to the re-working of silver and gold.'
Physical Description
Handle has silver heart shaped mount engraved 'WS'.
More Information
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Collecting Areas
Home & Community, Sustainable Futures, Migration & Cultural Diversity
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Acquisition Information
Donation & Subsequent Transfer from National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), Mrs Margaret Beaton, 27 Mar 1940
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Place & Date Made
Scotland, 1800-1900
Probable place made; also likely date - it was already considered significant enough in 1940 for the NGV to acquire. -
Inscriptions
Engraved 'WS'.
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Classification
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Category
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Discipline
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Type of item
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References
'Horn Spoon', Highland Folk Museum, profiled on BBC History of the World web site [Link 1] accessed 18/4/2016.
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Keywords
Cutlery, Spoons, Materials Science, Animal Products, Migration & Settlement, Scottish Communities