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Hand Engraved Souvenir Spoon ca. 1904, Gold Washed browse these categories for related items... Directory: Popular Collectibles: Specialty: Souvenirs: Pre 1910: item # 652261 Please refer to our stock # 58 when inquiring.
Southwest Trader HC-69 BOX 4B SAPELLO, NM 87745 505-425-5630 Guest Book $ 79.- |
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| I always keep my eye out for early Navajo and Pueblo souvenir spoons. Cindra Kline's fascinating book was the first one on the subject, and it made everyone aware of just how early and interesting spoons could be. Of course, once you start looking at Native American made spoons, you can't help but start to notice the details on commercially-produced spoons, too, because so many of them include Indian motifs, like this one. At the time of the "souvenir spoon craze" in this country, (ca. 1890 - 1915 at it's height, according to Kline) the general population was fascinated with Native American life and exhibits at World's Fairs often included displays of their life and crafts. The turn of the century was also the heyday of the "Buffalo Bill" show. All of this made for some odd combinations, as seen on this spoon. Life was changing fast and the invention of lithography, according to Kline, put the engravers of book plates, for illustrations, out of business. Some of these skilled artists found new work engraving detailed scenes into curved souvenir spoon bowls -- not a simple task! When new buildings, parks, bridges, etc. were dedicated there was often a spoon engraved to commemorate it. The handle may or may not make sense for the building if someone just liked the design, as seems to be the case here. This is a spoon engraved for a small town in Upstate New York, Glens Falls, when their new City Hall was dedicated. An email to the town gave me the info that they believe this building was finished ca. 1904 - 1906. The spoon handle is crammed with mostly Plains Indian motifs, including a teepee, which Indians in New York did not use for their homes. But that's not all that surprising as the general public generally equated full feathered headdresses and teepees to be the romanticized lifestyle and dress of all Indians at that time. (Buffalo Bill's show only furthered that imagery.) Kline's book explains that spoons with the word "Navajo" engraved in the bowl show profiles of Indians wearing feathered headdresses atop the handles, because the Navajo and Pueblo silversmiths simply made spoons for tourists conveying what tourists thought Indians should look like. A light gold wash often appears on these spoons, which further highlights the hard work of the engraving and makes the work glisten. This is a long-lost art form. I mean, think about it all for a moment: would anyone today bother to commemorate something so ordinary in such a beautiful, time-consuming way? Part of it is, they don't even build buildings like they used to -- you drive by a street corner and there's a new drug store where one didn't exist three weeks ago. Imagining the dedication ceremony for this building, in an era when people still gathered, proud enough of their community to gather and then hang a spoon in their kitchen of their city hall...I think that's pretty cool. And, this is a cool spoon. The pictures do not reflect the actual item size. See description of measurements. Spoon is 5 7/8 inches long. Weight is 0.90 oz. or 25 grams. | ||
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