Lepel met het helmteken Clifford 1806

This silver spoon, now at the Rijksmuseum, was crafted by Roelof Helweg, who lived through a time of immense social change that included the French Revolution and the rise of industrialization. The spoon is engraved with the Clifford family crest. In the 18th- and 19th-century context, silverware was not merely functional, but a symbol of wealth and lineage, reflecting the status and power of families like the Cliffords within the rigid social hierarchies of the time. Think about how objects such as this created a visual language of class and heritage. Consider the emotional weight carried by such an object. It's a reminder of family history but also of a system where privilege was inherited. It prompts us to think about who had access to such luxury and who did not. The spoon then becomes a poignant reminder of the economic disparities of the era, a symbol of both personal history and broader social inequalities.