Dessert Spoon with Wasp on Handle
ca. 1890
Medium
cutlery
Classification
cutlery
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Museum purchase from Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Program, Decorative Arts Association Acquisition, and Sarah Cooper-Hewitt Funds
Accession Number
1996-56-11
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
Behold the *Dessert Spoon with W on Handle*, a delightful example of late 19th-century decorativelery crafted by French artist Victor Gibert around 1890. This whimsical piece transforms a humble dessert spoon into a miniature work of art, with meticulously rendered wasp perched on the handle, blending functionality with playful naturalism. Housed in the Smithsonian American Art Museum's collection, it exemplifies how everyday objects were elevated to sculptural elegance during France's fin-de-siècle era. Gibert, a skilled French artisan, specialized in such intricate metalwork, where the wasp...