Notes

Thomas Wallis II was one of the more prolific London silversmiths of the Georgian period, registering his first mark as a plateworker in 1778 and continuing to work under successive marks until his retirement around 1821, a career spanning more than four decades. This pair of basting spoons, made in 1809, falls roughly at its midpoint, worked in the Old English pattern, one of the oldest surviving English flatware patterns, its plain, gently curved outline a design mainstay since the mid-eighteenth century. As basting spoons, each would have served double duty, used in the kitchen to spoon fat and juices over roasting meat, and at table to serve gravy or stuffing, the deep, elongated bowl suited to both tasks alike.