Finch & Co

Medium / Material

Coral, Amber, Tortoiseshell, Bone

Description

A Turkish Ottoman Sherbet Spoon the Amber and Brass stem with a Red Coral Finial, the bowl of tortoiseshell below a coral set carved whalebone fillet
Early 19th Century

Size: 25cm long – 9¾ ins long

Provenance

See: Finch & Co catalogue no.13, item no.34, and catalogue no.15, item no.34, for other examples
cf: Topkapi Museum inventory no. 2/2626

Literature

These exotic spoons were originally made for the use of the ladies of the Topkapi Palace harem where in the afternoons they would traditionally eat a sort of sweet fruit stew known as ‘hosaf’.