Spoon Lore:
This sterling spoon bangle was made from the Versailles Putto pattern designed by the Gorham Co. In 1888
**Please let me know your exact wrist size in inches in the order notes - please do not add additional length to this measurement*
There are pieces of silverware that are more miniature works of art than utensil, and Gorham’s Versailles pattern of 1888 is certainly one of them.
Versailles was the work of Florentin Antoine Heller, a French-born sculptor, silversmith and master die-sinker whose artistic training was steeped in the traditions of the École des Beaux-Arts.
Heller studied in Paris under the influence of celebrated academic painter and sculptor Jean-Léon Gérôme, before coming to America and working briefly for Tiffany & Co. Gorham recognized his extraordinary talent and brought him to Providence in 1881, where he would become the company’s chief designer and spend nearly two decades creating some of its most remarkable patterns.
Heller had a particular love for the Beaux-Arts tradition, an exuberant marriage of classical Greek and Roman imagery, Renaissance and Baroque grandeur, historical storytelling and meticulous craftsmanship. His silver became a perfect little canvas for it. Even French critics admired the almost impossible precision with which he sculpted figures into steel dies, praising both his artistry and unrivaled technical skill.
In Versailles, Heller looked to the lavish artistic world of the French palace, filling the pattern with different sculptural figures surrounded by sweeping scrolls, flowers and architectural ornament.
It was an extraordinarily ambitious multi-motif pattern, with more than 24 different scenes believed to have appeared across the handles. Gorham’s original 1888 catalogue illustrated 16 different Versailles utensil forms, with the largest set being comprised of 764 pieces.
On this tiny cocktail fork, a winged putto appears among a profusion of flowers, an image lifted straight from the Baroque and classical decoration of Versailles.
More than 135 years later, I transformed that little cocktail fork into this sterling silver bangle, preserving Heller’s miniature sculpture.
How it feels on your hand:
Each Lady Forge Spoon Bangle is hand formed using the portion of the spoon handle with the most design, and is paired with a hand-fabricated sterling silver band that forms the underside of the bracelet which opens and closes on one side. Therefore, the bracelet doesn’t feel too heavy or bulky, and should not rotate on the hand if correct wrist measurements are given (let me know in the order notes)
The bangle be opened and closed from one side, and each bangle is made to fit your wrist!
Please select your wrist measurement on the checkout page.
Oh, If Spoons Could Talk
I love spoon jewelry. And I love hunting for the most beautiful spoons to make it! Spoon jewelry is a little wearable piece of history allowing the story and beauty of the pattern to be displayed and treasured, rather than being forgotten in a drawer or melted down as many of these antique beauties are.
All the pieces I make are from the original antique spoons - none are copies or casts - and I make each by hand, giving care and though to how each pattern is best shaped and displayed.
Using the original sterling silverware means each piece is not only beautiful in design, but full of indications that it has lived life. Maybe a faded monogram or little wear spots - I enjoy thinking about the places they have been and who might have held them 100 years ago. Each piece is, therefore, truly unique.
I have discovered more than one of some of these spoon patterns, so each piece will come with its own character and story, varying slightly on little wear spots and marks from the photo in the listing - There will not be two that are exactly the same, each piece is truly unique.
I hope the piece you choose resonates with your own story and will be a piece you treasure for generations.
Spoon Lore:
This sterling spoon bangle was made from the Versailles Putto pattern designed by the Gorham Co. In 1888
**Please let me know your exact wrist size in inches in the order notes - please do not add additional length to this measurement*
There are pieces of silverware that are more miniature works of art than utensil, and Gorham’s Versailles pattern of 1888 is certainly one of them.
Versailles was the work of Florentin Antoine Heller, a French-born sculptor, silversmith and master die-sinker whose artistic training was steeped in the traditions of the École des Beaux-Arts.
Heller studied in Paris under the influence of celebrated academic painter and sculptor Jean-Léon Gérôme, before coming to America and working briefly for Tiffany & Co. Gorham recognized his extraordinary talent and brought him to Providence in 1881, where he would become the company’s chief designer and spend nearly two decades creating some of its most remarkable patterns.
Heller had a particular love for the Beaux-Arts tradition, an exuberant marriage of classical Greek and Roman imagery, Renaissance and Baroque grandeur, historical storytelling and meticulous craftsmanship. His silver became a perfect little canvas for it. Even French critics admired the almost impossible precision with which he sculpted figures into steel dies, praising both his artistry and unrivaled technical skill.
In Versailles, Heller looked to the lavish artistic world of the French palace, filling the pattern with different sculptural figures surrounded by sweeping scrolls, flowers and architectural ornament.
It was an extraordinarily ambitious multi-motif pattern, with more than 24 different scenes believed to have appeared across the handles. Gorham’s original 1888 catalogue illustrated 16 different Versailles utensil forms, with the largest set being comprised of 764 pieces.
On this tiny cocktail fork, a winged putto appears among a profusion of flowers, an image lifted straight from the Baroque and classical decoration of Versailles.
More than 135 years later, I transformed that little cocktail fork into this sterling silver bangle, preserving Heller’s miniature sculpture.
How it feels on your hand:
Each Lady Forge Spoon Bangle is hand formed using the portion of the spoon handle with the most design, and is paired with a hand-fabricated sterling silver band that forms the underside of the bracelet which opens and closes on one side. Therefore, the bracelet doesn’t feel too heavy or bulky, and should not rotate on the hand if correct wrist measurements are given (let me know in the order notes)
The bangle be opened and closed from one side, and each bangle is made to fit your wrist!
Please select your wrist measurement on the checkout page.
Oh, If Spoons Could Talk
I love spoon jewelry. And I love hunting for the most beautiful spoons to make it! Spoon jewelry is a little wearable piece of history allowing the story and beauty of the pattern to be displayed and treasured, rather than being forgotten in a drawer or melted down as many of these antique beauties are.
All the pieces I make are from the original antique spoons - none are copies or casts - and I make each by hand, giving care and though to how each pattern is best shaped and displayed.
Using the original sterling silverware means each piece is not only beautiful in design, but full of indications that it has lived life. Maybe a faded monogram or little wear spots - I enjoy thinking about the places they have been and who might have held them 100 years ago. Each piece is, therefore, truly unique.
I have discovered more than one of some of these spoon patterns, so each piece will come with its own character and story, varying slightly on little wear spots and marks from the photo in the listing - There will not be two that are exactly the same, each piece is truly unique.
I hope the piece you choose resonates with your own story and will be a piece you treasure for generations.
Image 1 of 5
Image 2 of 5
Image 3 of 5
Image 4 of 5
Image 5 of 5