Wedgwood Majolica Nautilus Shell Spoon Warmer, Dated 1879

This Wedgwood majolica spoon warmer is naturalistically modeled as a large nautilus shell, the striated body sweeping up at one end into a tightly coiled scroll and resting upon an oval base of molded cresting waves. The ribbed exterior is glazed in an unusual palette of amaranth, a deep reddish-purple, laid in alternating chevron bands against pale blue and white that follow the growth lines of the shell. The upper edge and the coiled terminal are washed in a mottled olive-gray, and the wide opening reveals an interior of vivid turquoise, the contrast between the two surfaces giving the piece much of its visual force. The wave base is modeled in gray and white and finished with a yellow-glazed foot rim.

The amaranth and pale blue striations set this example apart from the yellow, brown and green palettes more usually found on Wedgwood shell-form wares of the period.

Made to hold hot water and keep serving spoons warm on the Victorian sideboard, it now works best as a small piece of sculpture: on a console or bar cart where the turquoise interior can be seen, on a bookshelf among shells and coral, or on a dining table where it still serves as a spoon rest. It reads well against dark wood and deep wall colors.

Dimensions
Height: 5 inches (12.7 cm)
Length: 8 inches (20.3 cm)
Depth: 4 inches (10.2 cm)

Marks
Impressed WEDGWOOD above the three-letter date code WOH, with an impressed star to the left and S to the right; painted in red script M2954 with M below, the M-prefixed number being a Wedgwood majolica pattern number. In the Wedgwood three-letter system the first letter is the month and the third the year: W is August and H, in the 1872 to 1897 cycle, is 1879.

Provenance
Private collection; formerly with Charles Washburn.

Condition
Good, with a minor and virtually invisible restoration to the rim.

Historical Context
Spoon warmers were a fixture of the Victorian sideboard. Filled with hot water in the kitchen and carried to the table with the serving spoons standing in them, they kept silver from chilling the food in dining rooms that were frequently underheated. Wedgwood took up majolica around 1860, and its shell-form wares of the 1870s answered both the function and the period appetite for conchology, the collecting and study of shells, which had made marine subjects a staple of decorative design since the middle of the century.

(Ref: ny8118-umxx)


Condition:
Alterations: Original Condition Unaltered
Imperfections: Some Imperfections
Condition Notes: old chip to rim invisibly repaired

Origin:
United Kingdom

Creator:
Brand: Wedgwood

Materials & Techniques:
Earthenware

Details:
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
What type of item is it? Vintage / Antique / Used

Original Condition Unaltered; Some Imperfections; old chip to rim invisibly repaired