Silver Spice Sifter Spoon with Double Crest, 1786

This is a lovely, stylish silver spice sifter spoon made by the specialist spoonmaker Richard Crossley.

This 18th century Old English pattern spice spoon has drilled holes to the bowl for casting spices and an interesting engraved double crest to the front terminal that features both a lion rampant and a hound holding a sprig in its mouth.

Spice sifter spoons are scarce variations and smaller cousins of the more common sugar sifter spoons and were used to sprinkle nutmeg, cinnamon etc over hot chocolate, punch and toddies. They tend to date from the late 18th century and in to the early 19th century and followed much the same fashion advances as the bigger sugar sifter spoons from which they can be easily distinguished by their diminutive size.