George III Silver & Baleen Toddy Ladle with Old Coin Base
You must be a subscriber, and be logged in to view price and dealer details.
Subscribe Now to view actual auction price for this item
When you subscribe, you have the option of setting the currency in which to display prices to $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.
- George Iii - George III (1738 - 1820) was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1760 to 1820.
- Baleen - Baleen is the filter feeder system in a baleen whale, and these whales have several hundred plates of baleen with a hairy fringe on their upper jaw.
Baleen refers to the solid plate, and it is historically important as it was sought by whalers as a by-product of the whaling industry, who called it whalebone, though it is not made of bone at all, and used it for scrimshaw.
The earliest artefacts were made of baleen produced from Arctic whaling in the 17th century.
In the 19th century baleen was an important raw material, comparable to present-day plastics. Its thermoplastic nature and strength meant it could be used to make a wide variety of functional and decorative objects.
Sailors used baleen to make sewing boxes and other small containers and another common use was brush bristles; it was even used as runners on toboggans.
Baleen basketry was developed into a craft, with examples of simple baskets to complex woven ones, which could take months to complete.
Other shore-based uses included in corsets, buggy whips, umbrella ribs, canes, skirt hoops and especially as a cheaper substitute for ivory in carving.
This item has been included into following indexes:
Visually similar items
A sterling silver toddy ladle, with whalebone handle, London 1791
15ct yellow gold sapphire set bar brooch. Wt. 3.8g
A ladies platinum and gold wristwatch by Meylan Brassus, manual wind movement, circular textured silvered dial with black Arabic numerals, platinum case and 9ct white gold expandable bands, total length 150 mm, 20 mm diameter, circa 1914.
A George II silver coin toddy ladle with a timber handle, early to mid 18th century. the compressed cauldron shaped bowl richly decorated in the rococo manner with vines and scrolls, having a George II coin to the bowl, a silver mount with engraved initial