Tea Spoon 1745 - 1760

This is a teaspoon made by Myer Myers, a silversmith active in New York City during the 18th century. It's crafted from silver, a precious metal that would have been carefully refined and worked. The spoon's form is simple, yet elegant. Notice the smooth, rounded bowl, and the slender handle terminating in a distinctive drop end. Silver objects like this would have been made by hand, using techniques like hammering, filing, and polishing. The silversmith would have started with a bar of silver, gradually shaping it into the desired form. Consider the social context: this teaspoon speaks to the rise of tea consumption as a social ritual, and the increasing availability of luxury goods in colonial America. Myers was one of several accomplished silversmiths working in New York at the time, catering to a wealthy clientele. His work reminds us that even everyday objects can be appreciated for their material qualities, and the skilled labor that goes into their making. It invites us to look beyond the object itself and consider the hands that shaped it, and the society that valued it.