Spoon made by John Vogler, silversmith working in Old Salem, North Carolina, in the first quarter of the 19th century. The iprint of an eagle was made from teh swage block with two eagle impressions on it. Courtesy Old Salem, Inc.
the frugality, or possibly better, the ingenuity of the colonial silversmith and his patron is exemplified in these objects, compined forks and spoons, called sucket forks. the word sucket is derived from succade which referred in the 15th century to fruit preserved in sugar, either candied or in syrup. The term was also used in describing vegetables which had been similarly treated.
Fish servers frequently have the shape of a fish, but the silversmith who made this one seems to have been imaginative and created a different form. This one shows a number of the techniques of the silversmith such as piercing, engraving and embossing. The handle of ivory is also a very attracitve feature.
Skewers were used to fasten meat to a spit and prevent it from slipping as the spit rotated. Skewers are simple functional objects, but the holders are eagerly sought because of their unique decorative quality and their rarity. There is always provision for hanging them on a nail near a fireplace. Some examples are more attractively decorated than this example. Courtesy Mercer Museum.
