Koffielepel met eivormige bak en spatelvormig uiteinde 1806

This coffee spoon was made by Roelof Helweg in the late 18th or early 19th century. It's crafted from silver, a precious material that immediately speaks to the owner's wealth and status. Consider the silversmith's process. The transformation of raw metal into this elegant form involved a range of techniques, from melting and casting to hammering, filing, and polishing. The handle’s delicate, spatulate end and the egg-shaped bowl required careful manipulation of the material. Silver is quite soft, so this spoon would have slowly taken shape under the repeated blows of a hammer against an anvil. The reflective surface isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s a sign of skilled labor, a mark of value in a society where appearances mattered. A simple object like this can offer insight into the social hierarchies of the time and remind us that even the smallest things carry cultural weight. The spoon reflects the Dutch’s love for coffee, and their ability to import it from across the world.