Bronze Mold Used To Pour Pewter Spoons

These molds were imported from England to the Continent as early as the end of the 17th Century.
They made the common man's utensil at the dinner table.
Silver spoons were much more difficult to make and usually only the wealthy were able to afford them. It also took a skilled craftsman to make silver spoons, when a pewter spoon could be poured by a traveling Tinker (tin smith) with a little skill and a spoon mold such as the one pictured. They would then sell them to local folks. They often traded pewter spoons for damaged or broken pewter items. This way, the Tinker could pour new spoons from scrap metal ( early recycling).
The pictures above show both sides of the mold,(note that the inside of the mold is polished to give a smoother and more appealing surface to the spoon). The finished spoon is located in the center of the two mold halves.
This spoon mold pours a rat tail support on to the spoon dish to help support the spoon.
The last photo shows a view of the entry where the pewter is poured through to form the spoon.
I was fortunate to find this mold with a spoon that was actually poured using it. Because of it's age and rarity, I wouldn't to pour into this mold today. It probably would hold up just fine, but, why risk damaging a piece of history. .... hotairfan