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Punch ladle: M/P.2-1937

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Current Location: In storage

Maker(s)

Silversmith: Pollock, John (Possibly)

Entities

Categories

Description

Silver; the oval bowl has fluted sides and a lip. It has a cast bifurcated silver stem and turned whalebone (baleen) handle with silver terminal

Notes

History note: Not known before Charles Horace Wilkinson

Legal notes

Charles Horace Wilkinson Bequest

Measurements and weight

Length: 43.7 cm
Length: 17ΒΌ in

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1937-06-21) by Wilkinson, Charles Horace

Dating

18th Century, Mid
George II
1741 - 1742

Note

In the past handles, such as this, were catalogued as being made of 'whalebone' but are in fact of baleen. Whales do not have teeth, but feed through filters attached to their upper jaws. These are known as baleen plates or baleen hair and are made of keratin (like hair and nails) not bone. When dried the baleen forms a plastic-like material which was used for handles of riding whips and the stays in corsets.

Components of the work

Handle composed of whalebone
Bowl And Stem composed of silver
Bowl
Stem

Inscription or legends present

Inscription present: possibly 'JP' in script, in a heart-shapred cartouche

  • Location: Within the bowl
  • Method of creation: Struck
  • Type: Maker's mark

Inscription present: lion passant

  • Location: Within the bowl
  • Method of creation: Struck
  • Type: Hallmark

Inscription present: leopard's head

  • Location: Within the bowl
  • Method of creation: Struck
  • Type: Hallmark
  • Text: f
  • Location: Within the bowl
  • Method of creation: Struck
  • Type: Hallmark

References and bibliographic entries

Identification numbers

Accession number: M/P.2-1937
Primary reference Number: 157326

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Tuesday 26 March 2024

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "Punch ladle" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/157326 Accessed: 2025-12-23 18:19:14

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:

{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/157326 |title=Punch ladle |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-23 18:19:14|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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