Gothic Style Spoons

During the 1865-80's the Victorian era manufacturers were particularly known for incorporating different historical styles into the same piece, and this modus operandi was used by all of the major silver manufacturers including Tiffany and Gorham. At the time the revival of the best elements of each historical period into one design was considered to be the height of sophistication.

Later art scholars (1900-1920) would look at this time period and conclude that the objects produced were "ugly and lacked artistical merit". That viewpoint continued until the late 1960's when a new generation of art critics re-discovered the "Victorian" era and decided that it really was a series of innovative styles, rather than a haphazard historical "mishmash."

One of the popular styles was termed "Gothic". This is really a "Renaissance Revival" style and virtually every major manufacturer incorporated elements of the style into their flatware. The gothic is usually a modified Greek double-scroll with a shell or an antefix. Honeysuckle blossoms were also a frequent design motif. Some manufacturers used bolder and more renaissance architectural elements in their designs.

Gothic revival occurred during the 1900-1910 time period

This sugar shell is in the Gothic style. It is marked sterling with a patent date of 1866, but I have not yet been able to trace the manufacturer mark but a reader says that it was made by Hogan and Wade( thank you Erica). The two pictures below show gothic elements from the back of the spoon.

Gorham's sterling Corinthian pattern with a patent date of 1871 looks like a mushroom to me. Note the raised element in the bowl which is a typical aesthetic style design.

Gorham "gothic style" demi spoon.

Gothic revival style by Paye & Baker

Whiting's version of this style (Arabesque -- 1875) has a griffin holding the shield. The Whiting silvermark is a Griffin holding a "W"

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