Roman Spoon / Fork, Silver

Roman Spoon/Fork

Roman cutlery with integrated spoon and fork, richly decorated with the heads of a panther and a griffin. The cat of prey is characterized by a dot pattern as a leopard, which is associated with the god of the wine Bacchus (Greek Dionysus). A curved handle with a paw end reminds to the ornate legs of Roman side tables. This reconstruction is inspired by a find in the Metropolitan Museum in New York. The original was donated to the museum by a private collector. Handcrafted from solid 925 sterling silver, length approx. 16 cm.

Roman "Spork"

The table habits of the Romans were very different from ours today. Due to the fire danger in major cities, the maintenance of fire pits was limited, so the common roman had to eat on the street at food stalls and taverns. How large the number of these themopoliae was, can today still be discovered in the ancient cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The wealthier citizens were not only able to afford their own kitchens in their richly furnished villas, but were also served by specially trained slaves. The own prosperity was demonstrated with exquisite, rare and expensive specialties and spices, especially during extravagant feasts with invited guests. Not only the expensive food, but also precious cutlery and crockery were very important for that occasion. Richly decorated silver vessels underlined the wealth of the master of the house in the upper class society.
Since it was not only considered improper in the higher society, but even socially impossible to lie at the table with a knife, the food was already served bite-sized in small pieces. Sauces in different flavors were important at the meals, which were presented in small pots and bowls. To distribute the food and sauces, large serving spoons (Ligulae) were used. Smaller spoons with a pointed tip (cochleariae) were used to eat.
From the time of the Roman Republic, only few cutlery was found, so that one must assume, that also in upper society primarily the fingers were used to eat.  Soups were drunk directly from a bowl. Even in the age of the Roman Empire, the fingers were still the most important tool, but also representative kitchen appliances and cutlery became popular. Our "spork", typologically most likely dating back to the 3rd century, probably was not used by a single person, but as serving cutlery for exquisite dishes and sauces. It is interesting that this spork has already a fork integrated, which should develop into a widespread cutlery only in later times.

Information about the original:

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/257863