Ladle with Flattened Oval Shape

A ladle with a flattened oval bowl and a shaped, curved rosewood handle shows Spratling refining a serving form down to clean lines and the contrast of two materials. The flattened oval is a quiet bit of geometry, the kind of disciplined shaping that distinguishes his holloware from ordinary flatware.

The silver bowl paired with a rosewood handle is the device Morrill ties to Spratling's affinity for Puiforcat, whose silver was finished with rosewood at the handles and finials (Morrill, p. 224). The handle is shaped to the hand, a sign of holloware meant to be used. The ladle is recorded in Goddard's Spratling Silver field guide.

Serving pieces survive in smaller numbers than common flatware, and the flattened-oval bowl with a curved rosewood handle marks this as a considered Spratling design.