Cork silver Onslow pattern basting spoon

[scorpio]

This is a nice spoon by Carden Terry of Cork with an attractive Onslow pattern terminal. Onslow pattern terminals are usually only found on basting and serving spoons as well as soup and sauce ladles. The Onslow terminal is cast and then soldered on the stem of the spoon using an angled scarf joint. If you find an Onslow pattern spoon with a butt joint joining the terminal and stem, it's invariably a fake or altered piece.

This Carden Terry spoon has an original scarf joint as shown in the photographs below with the reverse joint line being 4mm higher than the front joint line and is generally in wonderful condition apart from the worn hallmarks. The CT mark is very soft but still decipherable (better to naked eye than camera shot) while the STERLING mark is worn down completely just leaving the rectangular surround. On the back of the bowl is a crest in the shape of an outstretched open hand, which is in surprisingly good condition given the worn hallmarks. Unable to find another Onslow pattern basting spoon by Carden Terry online, I figured this spoon must be rare enough to warrant me acquiring it inexpensively for my collection despite the worn marks.