POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Souvenir teaspoon commemorating Federation of Australia

Object No. A1634-1

The souvenir teaspoon commemorates the federation of the Australian colonies. It is significant as a miniature compendium of the nationalist motifs frequently employed by Australian artists, craftsmen and sculptors during the last decades of the nineteenth century. Notable among these motifs are the depictions of a ship, wheat sheaf, sheep, pick-axe and shovel, representing respectively commerce and trade, agriculture, the pastoral industries, and labour. While these allegorical representations are not specifically Australian, they were the most commonly employed to represent colonial industries and progress, for example in Tomasso Sani's statuary for the Chief Secretary's Office, Bridge Street or Achille Simonetti's Phillip Fountain in the Palace Garden, Macquarie Street. More specifically nationalist are the stars representing the colonies and the rising sun motif. Despite its significance, Federation inspired a small output of celebratory artworks and souvenirs in comparison to events including royal visits and the 1914-18 War. This commemorative spoon is a fine example of Federation imagery.