Description
Carved maple wood spoon with the portrait of Leopold I of Habsburg, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 1658 to 1705. H. 18,3cm The offering of a spoon during the rites of life - birth, marriage - is a tradition that archaeologists already know in the pre-Christian era. In the ancient Church, around the 9th century, during communion, the blessed bread was offered to the faithful with a spoon, mainly in the Orthodox rite. During baptism, in ancient Christian rites, Catholic and Orthodox, the spoon was used to apply the Holy Chrism on the child's forehead. It is thus by transiting through the Orthodox countries, through the Germanic countries, that the tradition of the baptismal spoons arrives to us. The expression "to be born with a silver spoon in the mouth" refers to the gifts offered during the ceremony, often an apostle's spoon surmounted by the child's patron saint. It would appear from the examples found and preserved in museums and private collections that ornamental spoons made of finely carved wood, most of them decorated with religious scenes, were offered as presents, probably to the assembly of guests at family ceremonies, as we know of several examples, obviously from the same workshop. This one, made of maple wood and carved with particular care, has a bas-relief portrait of Leopold I of Habsburg, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 1658 to 1705. A peaceful ruler, but one who had to wage perpetual wars to preserve the peace of his empire, he was also unfortunate in his desire to have offspring: two of his wives and many children died prematurely. In 1676, he married Eleanor of Neuburg in his third marriage, who gave him ten children, including Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria, born in 1684 and who died of smallpox in 1696. The date 1684 is inscribed at the end of religious sayings on the inside of the spoon in old German, as well as a dedication to Heinrich Scheffer. The sculpture, extremely fine, and of a meticulousness without fault presents many details: a mermaid with long wavy hair and crowned with hearts, symbol of love and purity, a ring prisoner symbolizing the attachment, the couple of the parents represented in clothes, the joined hands, cheek against cheek, three other faces being able to represent the three remaining children of this marriage to this date. And finally, an amusing detail, at the connection of the handle and the handle, a child, naked, scratching his hindquarters! Biblio. History of Germany. A.O. Meyer. Historical review 1911 Treen and other wood bygones. Edward. H. Pinto 1968 - Domestic utensils of wood. Owen Evan-Thomas 1973 - Treen and small woodenware. Edward. H. Pinto 1949 - Catalogue of the sale of the collection of Dr. Fröling, Koln 1890
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Carved maple wood spoon with the portrait of Leopold I of Habsburg, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 1658 to 1705. H. 18,3cm The offering of a spoon during the rites of life - birth, marriage - is a tradition that archaeologists already know in the pre-Christian era. In the ancient Church, around the 9th century, during communion, the blessed bread was offered to the faithful with a spoon, mainly in the Orthodox rite. During baptism, in ancient Christian rites, Catholic and Orthodox, the spoon was used to apply the Holy Chrism on the child's forehead. It is thus by transiting through the Orthodox countries, through the Germanic countries, that the tradition of the baptismal spoons arrives to us. The expression "to be born with a silver spoon in the mouth" refers to the gifts offered during the ceremony, often an apostle's spoon surmounted by the child's patron saint. It would appear from the examples found and preserved in museums and private collections that ornamental spoons made of finely carved wood, most of them decorated with religious scenes, were offered as presents, probably to the assembly of guests at family ceremonies, as we know of several examples, obviously from the same workshop. This one, made of maple wood and carved with particular care, has a bas-relief portrait of Leopold I of Habsburg, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 1658 to 1705. A peaceful ruler, but one who had to wage perpetual wars to preserve the peace of his empire, he was also unfortunate in his desire to have offspring: two of his wives and many children died prematurely. In 1676, he married Eleanor of Neuburg in his third marriage, who gave him ten children, including Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria, born in 1684 and who died of smallpox in 1696. The date 1684 is inscribed at the end of religious sayings on the inside of the spoon in old German, as well as a dedication to Heinrich Scheffer. The sculpture, extremely fine, and of a meticulousness without fault presents many details: a mermaid with long wavy hair and crowned with hearts, symbol of love and purity, a ring prisoner symbolizing the attachment, the couple of the parents represented in clothes, the joined hands, cheek against cheek, three other faces being able to represent the three remaining children of this marriage to this date. And finally, an amusing detail, at the connection of the handle and the handle, a child, naked, scratching his hindquarters! Biblio. History of Germany. A.O. Meyer. Historical review 1911 Treen and other wood bygones. Edward. H. Pinto 1968 - Domestic utensils of wood. Owen Evan-Thomas 1973 - Treen and small woodenware. Edward. H. Pinto 1949 - Catalogue of the sale of the collection of Dr. Fröling, Koln 1890
