Stunning Large Victorian Royal Navy Silver Plated Basting Spoon by Elkington & Co. Ltd 1854

Here on offer is a top grade Victorian Royal Navy silver plated fiddle pattern basting spoon, by Elkington & Co. Ltd and dating to 1854.

I have had this spoon for many years and was told it had come from the Royal Navy Officer’s mess hall at Portsmouth.

A fiddle pattern spoon is a distinctive style of cutlery with a handle shaped like a violin or fiddle, featuring pronounced "shoulders" near the bowl and a tapered end, popular in the 19th century. Originating in France and gaining traction in England during the 1760s, this design is renowned for its elegance, durability, and often features a downward-turned handle, as this example does.

The front of the spoon handle has been beautifully engraved with a Royal Navy fouled anchor.

Then on the reverse of the handle, it is stamped with a clear set of Victorian period English silver plate marks.

They consist of the Elkington & Co. makers mark, being a Queens crown above the letters E & Co set in a shield recess.

Then there is the letter “P” that dates this spoon to the year 1854, along with the other Victorian period silver plate marks/letters.

It is also stamped with "1A" (often marked as A1 or AI) silver plate refers to the highest quality standard of electroplated silver, typically used on antique cutlery and hollowware. It signifies that the base metal, often nickel or copper (EPNS), was coated with a thicker, more durable layer of silver compared to lower grades like B or C.

Elkington & Co. was a premier 19th-century English silver manufacturer based in Birmingham, founded in the 1830s by George Richards Elkington. Renowned for inventing and patenting the commercial electroplating process in 1840, they revolutionized the industry by producing high-quality silver-plated wares, eventually becoming one of the most significant names in English silver.

On the reverse of the spoon on the shoulder of the bowl, it is stamped with the number “1”, probably its number in a group of basting spoons, used by the Royal Navy at the time.

The spoon itself is in excellent condition, retaining all of its original plating, there is just some light rub marks on the base of bowl, where it would just rest on a table top.

The spoon measures 12.75” (32.4cm) long and the bowl measures 2.2” (5.5cm) wide.

It weighs 165g.

Please see my pictures for the details of the condition, which complement this description.

Please see my TERMS OF BUSINESS regarding Deliver Charges and Insurance regarding additional insurance cover, should you require it, BEFORE the item is dispatched.

The responsibility lies with the customer to check with your Customs restrictions that this item can be imported into your country.

Code: 52229