• Mote spoon
    Mote spoon
Mote spoon
Mote spoon
Mote spoon

Mote Spoon


1740 (Date manufactured/created)
Coin Silver
Mote spoons were used in the late 17th and early 18th century to scoop out tea leaf pieces from one's tea and remove cloves and lemon seeds from punch.  The long round pointy handle was used to clear clogged tea leaves from a teapot spout.  This coin silver example is c.1740, origin New Haven, CT, and has the monogram "FIC" or "EIC" in tiny letters on the underside of the handle.  It is housed in a velvet lined box of recent origin.  Spoon is 5 3/4" long. 
Drinking tea in the colonies began in the early 18th century and was indication of a family's affluence and a reflection of English manners and customs transported here as colonist became more affluent.  According to Patricia Kane, Curator of American Decorative Arts at Yale's Art Gallery, ours is of American origin and probably made in New Haven around 1740.  Since silver of that era was ordered from a silversmith, and coinage was handed over to be melted down before an item was made, this spoon seems to indicate an owner of some substance with knowledge of English tastes.  It is a very unusual item and few small museums have one on display.
The spoon belonged to Mrs. K. Peters.
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