Victorian antique silver – apostle handle sugar sifter

The rich Victorians loved to have an array of specialist cutlery at the tables of their large banquets and developed a piece for every possible use: Salt spoons, Caddy spoons, butter knives, cheese knives, fish knives, ladles, scoops and picks. Here’s a pretty piece of Victorian silver I thought you would like to see:

Victorian sugar sifter

This is a sugar sifter spoon – made so that you can add a delicate sprinkling of caster or powdered sugar to your desert. This special collectible spoon has a pierced bowl and an Apostle finial to the handle. It is fully hallmarked for Birmingham 1897. It measures about 9.5 cms long and weighs about 8 grams
So what is an Apostle spoon? According to Wikipedia these are:

An apostle spoon is a spoon (usually silver or silver-plated, but sometimes of other metals, such as pewter) with an image of an apostle or other Christian religious figure as the termination of the handle, each bearing his distinctive emblem.

Originating in early-fifteenth century Europe as spoons used at table (often produced in sets of thirteen), by the sixteenth century they had become popular as baptismal presents for god-children, but were dying out by 1666. In some communities this tradition continued until at least the mid-twentieth century. Shakespeare refers to it in Henry VIII, Act 5, Scene 3, where Cranmer declines to be sponsor for the infant Elizabeth because of his lack of money. King Henry banters him with “Come, come, my lord, you’d spare your spoons.”

Sets of the twelve apostles are not common, and complete sets of thirteen, with the figure of Jesus on a larger spoon, are still rarer.

Want to own this silver sugar sifter – I am currently offering it for sale on eBay. 23/12/ 08 Update sorry this is now sold