POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Souvenir spoon with gumnut finial

Object No. 2002/78/10

This spoon belongs to the collection of silver and EPNS (electroplated nickel silver) tableware, trophies, napkin rings and spoons made and/or used in Australia between the 1890s and 1950s. Presented to the Museum in 2002, the collection was assembled in the 1980s by Dr G W Kenneth Cavill, an Emeritus Professor of the University of New South Wales. In his retirement, Professor Cavill has researched and published the histories of notable early 20th century Australian silverware manufacturers. The collection is representative of their products and includes rare objects. It was put together to document, and preserve examples of, the golden era for the production of domestic silverware in Australia. Rare manufacturers' catalogues of the 1920s and 1930s that complete the collection, show the extensive range of products then available. Giftware such as spoons and napkin rings is particularly well represented. Souvenir spoons of Australian design, decorated with Australia's unique flora and fauna, were made from the 1890s. Some of the best flatware made in Australia in the first decades of the 20th century was designed and made by members of Australian Arts and Crafts Societies and those who followed the ideals and practices of the Arts and Crafts Movement. London-trained artist, teacher and craftsman, James W R Linton (active 1869-1947) was a leading exponent of the Arts and Crafts style in Perth, Western Australia. Together with his working partner Arthur G Cross, he produced much jewellery and silverware, including spoons, in the style from 1910 to 1917. During the 1920s and 1930s, Linton was in partnership with his elder son James Alexander Barrow (Jamie) Linton (1904-1980) whom he had tought. Well designed and superbly crafted, this spoon was most probably made in the 1930s. It is an excellent example to illustrate J A Linton's flatware with Australian motifs.