George V Sterling Silver & Greenstone Kiwi Serving Spoons

• Frank Hyams Ltd. - Frank Hyams purchased a jewellery business in Princess Street Dunedin in 1885. As well as a manufacturing jeweller, he was a silversmith and goldsmith and specialised in jewellery incorporating New Zealand greenstone. At the New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition in 1890 he secured "first order of merit" for the manufacture of gold, gem and greenstone jewellery.
  
  Concurrent with his Dunedin store, in 1902 Frank Hyams registered a limited company, Frank Hyams Ltd., and established a business in London, at 167 New Bond Street, and later at 128 New Bond Street, London, trading as 'artistic jewellers, gold and silversmiths, and dealers in gems of rarity'.
  
  Frank Hyams established a reputation within the English aristocratic and upper class social circles for his unique one-off curiosity pieces incorporating materials and design influences from his New Zealand homeland.
  
  The British Museum has a collection of 36 badges manufactured by Frank Hyams Ltd., circa 1906.
  
  According to the London Gazette, in 1913 at an Extraordinary General Meeting it was voted that the company be voluntarily wound up and Frank Hyams was appointed liquidator.
• Scallop / Shell Motif - The shell motif has been used in furniture and decorative arts for centuries. In ancient Greece and Rome, shells were often used as decorative elements on furniture and in mosaics. The scallop or cockleshell are the most commonly used. During the Renaissance, the shell motif became popular in furniture and architecture, as the ornate decoration was seen as a symbol of wealth and luxury. In the 18th century, the Rococo style of furniture and decorative arts featured an abundance of shell motifs, and it was used by Thomas Chippendale and as a feature on Queen Anne style cabriole legs. In the 19th century, the shell motif was incorporated into Victorian furniture and decorative items, and often a representation of the the conch shell was inlaid into furniture.
  
  

• Sterling Silver - Sterling silver is a mixture of 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% of another metal, usually copper. Fine silver is 99.9% pure silver, and is relatively soft and the addition of the very small amount of copper gives the metal enough strength and hardness to be worked into jewellery, decorative and household objects.
• George V - George V (1865 ? 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 1910 until his death in 1936.
• Finial - An architectural decoration, found on the upper parts of of an object. On furniture they are usually found on pediments, canopies and shelf supports. On smaller ceramic or silver items, such as spoons, they may decorate the top of the item itself, or the lid or cover where they provide a useful handle for removal.
  
  Finials have a variety of shapes and forms. They may be urn-shaped, baluster shaped round or spiral, but usually taper into an upper point. Many real life shapes may also be used as finials, such as pineapples, berries, pinecones, buds, lotus and acorns. Sometimes animals such as a lion are depicted, or fish and dolphins.

This item has been included into following indexes:

• Hyams, Frank (New Zealand) - silver and jewellery 15
• silver cutlery / flatware - greenstone / pounamu handles 71
• spoons, silver - serving 465