The History And Meaning Of A Spoon Ring
The humble, yet meaningful and beautiful spoon ring is thought to have begun its life in 17th century England. Servants and house staff working for affluent families had little money and so were too poor to buy expensive engagement or wedding rings when wanting to propose marriage to their true love. This meant their next best option was to steal a silver spoon from their employers and turn it into a ring for their intended.
Most wealthy houses had a family crest or the head of house's monogram engraved into the end of the spoon handle and so it became increasingly easy to find who had stolen the treasured silverware as the practice gained popularity. There were countless arrests for this over the centuries, with most being sent overseas on prison ships to places like Australia. The romance and love associated with spoon rings is just & true. People risked imprisonment, the chance they may never see their love again with prisoners being sent abroad, sometimes even death with the dire conditions in prisons killing far too many, simply for the chance to give their betrothed something beautiful & meaningful to represent their love and future together.
Spoon rings came to the forefront once again during the Free Love culture & Hippie Movement in the 1960's and 1970's. This was more a statement of fashion and crafting something unique and economical rather than one of love, but I still feel you can sense the meaningfulness behind this unique & historic craft. Spoons, after all, have a history of association with love. Welsh Love Spoons have a history going back to the 15th century. The love spoon was given to a young woman by a man who wished to marry her. The intended’s father needed to see that the man wanting to marry his daughter was capable of providing for the family and was accomplished in woodwork. Sailors would carve love spoons during their long journey’s, hence anchors would often be worked into the design. Certain symbols came to have specific meaning: a horseshoe representing luck, a cross for faith, bells meaning marriage, hearts, of course, for love, a wheel supporting a loved one and a lock for security. Caged balls pointed to the number of children hoped for and the more intricate & precise the design, the more skilled the carver.
Spoons are an important symbol pertaining to love, marriage & commitment. Their history should be shared, honored and passed on. Here at The Silver Garden I find as much out about the silverware and pieces I use as I can, I feel it is important to carry the history through the generations and continue traditions. Many people do not have heirlooms to pass down, so why not start your own? I call my pieces 'Future Heirlooms'. They have been hand crafted, many years ago and treasured by their past owners. I bring new life to them, new purpose, and pass on their history to their new owners to cherish & give to future generations.
. . Claire . .
~The Silver Garden ~