Fiddle, Thread & Shell Silver Runcible Spoon, 1854

This is a fabulous example of an antique silver runcible spoon (aka pickle or chutney spoon or spork) in the desirable Fiddle, Shell & Thread pattern. 

This Victorian spoon was made one of the premier spoonmakers of the 19th century, the lady silversmith Elizabeth Eaton and is in excellent original condition with crisp double-struck decoration (i.e. on both sides of the stem). It has the further benefit of bearing an original engraved crest to the front terminal set within a garter and surounded by the Latin motto "VERITAS VINCIT" which translates to "Truth Prevails".

The runcible spoon appears in two works by Edward Lear: The Owl & The Pussy Cat ("They dined on mince and slices of quince, which they ate with a runcible spoon") and Twenty-Six Nonsense Rhymes and Pictures ("The Dolomphious Duck, who caught Spotted Frogs for her dinner with a Runcible Spoon").