A cased set of six champlevé gold-plated coffee spoons in an Art Nouveau flower design of 1901 by Gustav Gaudernack, Norway’s leading goldsmith.
Champlevé is an enamelling technique of cutting away troughs or cells in a metal object and then filling the hollows with coloured powdered glass (enamel). The glass fuses to the metal under intense heat; when cooled it is filed, smoothed and polished.
The spoons were made by jeweller David Andersen of Christiania (now Oslo). The back of the handles is impressed with 925 (signifying the 92.5% purity of the silver) and the David Andersen mark used between 1888 and 1925.
The identical spoon is in the collection of Norway’s National Museum and can be viewed online.
The case is of the period and appears to be covered in tanned reptile skin. There is no maker’s mark on the lining.
Condition The case has slight scuffing. The spoons are in excellent condition.
Spoons length 10.8 cm
Case 14.8 cm x 14.7 cm x 2.3 cm
Weight 234 g (case and spoons); 14 g (each spoon)
Medium of spoons: Gold-plated silver with applied coloured enamels
Origin: Christiania (Oslo), Norway
See Gustav Gaudernack and David Andersen in Makers & Artists for background.
