George III sterling silver mote spoon with fork with Bright Cut decoration, hallmarked for London 1804 and maker WB (possibly William Bennett)
Tea in the 17th century and most of the 18th century was supplied in a rather crude form with large leaves and a great deal of dust. Mote spoons, with their pierced bowls, were used to separate the larger leaves from the chaff of grit, stones, twigs and even dead insects that managed to find their way into the bags of raw tea leaves during the harvesting process. Mote spoons were also likely used to remove fragments of tea or ‘mote’ from teacups before drinking. Most had a sharp pointed end of the spoon which would have been used to dislodge blockages from the inside of the spout of the teapot.
Mote spoons were less produced and used by the late 18th century - this is a later example from 1804 which has the addition of a fork on one end.
Size: ¼ h x 5 ½ w x 1 d in
C21059
