Spoon with putto handle
Unknown Artist
late 17th–early 18th century
Medium
Silver gilt, ivory
Dimensions
Length: 7 1/4 in. (18.4 cm)
Classification
Metalwork-Silver In Combination
Culture
German
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Giles Whiting, 1962
Accession Number
62.118.3
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite *Spoon with putto*, crafted in Germany during the late 17 to early 18th, exemplifies the opulent decorative arts of the Baroque era. Measuring just 7¼ inches (18.4 cm) long, it combines silver gilt—a luxurious technique where silver is coated with thin layer of gold for a radiant sheen—with finely carved ivory for the. The charming putto, a chubby, winged cherub figure symbolizing innocence and playfulness, perches playfully at the handle's end, a motif drawn from classical mythology and widely popular in European sculpture and metalwork of the period. In the context of German ...