Filigree Jockey Cap Caddy Spoon, c1805 Norie 96c

This is a superb silver jockey cap caddy spoon made in filigree and with the bonus of appearing in John Norie's definitive book on caddy spoons.

This antique jockey cap spoon has a faulous basket weave hat with an original script initial "H" in script to the cap and a superb filigree visor. 

Filigree is a form of ornamentation with fine silver wire formed in to a delicate tracery and as can be seen with the peak on this spoon, the intricate patterns produced were extremely painstaking work but gave fantastic results.

The jockey cap caddy spoon was introduced circa 1797 and was extremely popular for about a decade and with the influx of specialist Italian filigree workers to Birmingham in the early years of the 19th century, this spoon can be accurately dated to circa 1800-1810.

By its nature, filigree is very fragile and many pieces have failed to survive in good order. This example however remains in first class condition with nothing negative to report. Due to their lightweight and fragility, filigree caddy spoons were rarely hallmarked and although the makers are unknown today, a likely workshop candidate for this spoon would be that of Samuel Pemberton - as makers of both filigree and jockey caps.

Provenance: this is a documented spoon that features as Plate 96c in "Caddy Spoons: An Illustrated Guide" by John Norie.