Heavily Decorated Sterling Silver Spoon

[Sand_pontil]

Last summer I was scraping around in the mud below the roots of a semi-uprooted tree along a steep river bank. There was a small pocket of broken glass and as I was pulling mud/dirt out I heard this spoon drag against a rock. It says ETHAN ALLEN MONUMENT BURLINGTON VT and the back says STERLING S. Inside the "cup" of the spoon is a picture of the Ethan Allen monument and some trees. The front of the handle is my favorite part. At the top is a motif of a native american with a fancy head dress. Below that is corn followed by a bow and arrows. There are motifs of canoes all around the outside edges from the native americans head down to the end of the corn. On the back of the handle is a teepee with what looks like a fence and forest in the background. In front of the teepee are water reeds and a lake with ripples. A canoe rests on the lake edge in front of the teepee. Below that is an axe and a paddle crossed, followed by a baby in a basket then something unidentified. There is another something unidentified below that...looks like a club or maybe a pipe. Haven't tried cleaning it. [attachment=Ethan_Allen_1.jpg][attachment=Ethan_Allen_2.jpg]

 

[Sand_pontil]

The back[attachment=ETHAN_ALLEN_3.jpg]

 

[cowseatmaize]

It's sterling so give it a polish with something non abrasive. I'm guessing a commemorative spoon from 1973 (100th anniversary but maybe the 50th).

 

[Sand_pontil]

It was a TOC dump

 

[cowseatmaize]

It was a TOC dump

That doesn't mean much.Clean it and look for fine print. anniversary, commemorating, 1873-????, etc..It could be a late throw or the dump was put on top of it. It could be a 25 year anniversary instead of 50 or 100.Maybe there are other things from 1873 in that area. IDKCleaning and looking closely is the first step.Either that or send it to me with $50 I'll do it and give you a better idea.[]

 

[Sand_pontil]

I found a few broken sloppy Stoddard like applied collars, a bunker hill pickle jar and plenty of BIM shards along with a lesser amount of ABM bottles. I believe it was a souvenir spoon and not necessarily a commemorative one. There are a few guide books to souvenir spoons that I should check. I found some Ethan Allen Monument souvenir spoons online but not with the decorative handle like this one. Maybe a book can tell me more. Ill clean it up and take another shot of it.

 

[cobaltbot]

Nice! Some very cool images on that spoon.