Serving Spoon

Name/Title

Serving Spoon

Entry/Object ID

00.9

Description

A coin silver serving spoon. The rounded, down-turned rectangular handle is engraved with an ornate floral spray and a decorated upper-case script: "C". Below this letter is engraved an upper-case three-letter monogram: "WWH". The bowl of the spoon contains a small dent.

Artwork Details

Medium

Silver

Made/Created

Artist Information

Artist

Garrett, Philip

Role

Silversmith

Date made

1801 - 1835

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Type

Engraving

Location

Obverse of handle

Transcription

C / WWH

Language

English

Material/Technique

Inscribed

Type

Makers Mark

Location

Reverse of handle

Transcription

P. Garrett

Language

English

Material/Technique

Inscribed

Dimensions

Width

2 in

Depth

1/2 in

Length

9 in

Provenance

Notes

This silver spoon bears the monogram of William Wirt Henry (1831–1900), a grandson of Patrick Henry. Philip Garrett (1780–1851), a silversmith out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, made this spoon. Garrett worked alone before partnering with his son, using the mark "P. Garrett," from 1801 to 1828. The spoon bears a decorative monogram of an upper-case "C". It is undetermined who this "C" monogram refers to, but it may represent the Cabell surname. Elvira McClelland Henry (1808–1875), mother of William Wirt Henry, descended from the Cabell family and may have inherited this spoon. The spoon eventually passed to William Wirt Henry. His "WWH" monogram matches that engraved on other pieces of silver owned by Henry, including a salver, Monteith bowl, and pitcher (76.122). The spoon remained in the possession of Henry's descendants. Margaret Penick Nuttle (1913–2009), a third great-granddaughter of Patrick Henry, donated the spoon to the Patrick Henry Memorial Foundation on September 1, 2000.