Lovespoon

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Carved wooden lovespoon with hearts, lock and wheel. There are five design elements, three hearts which also form the bowl and the ring of the spoon. Between these are a wheel and a padlock.
Lovespoon with hearts, lock and wheel

A Lovespoon is a wooden spoon decoratively carved that was traditionally presented as a gift of romantic intent. The spoon is normally decorated with symbols of love, and was intended to reflect the skill of the carver. Due to the intricate designs, lovespoons are no longer used as functioning spoons and are now decorative craft items.

Origins

The lovespoon is a traditional craft that dates back to the seventeenth century. Over generations, decorative carvings were added to the spoon and it lost its original practical use and became a treasured decorative item to be hung on a wall.

The earliest known dated lovespoon from Wales, displayed in the St Fagans National History Museum near Cardiff, is from 1667, although the tradition is believed to date back long before that.[1] The earliest dated lovespoon worldwide originates from Germany, and is dated as 1664.[2][3]

Symbols

The lovespoon was given to a young woman by her suitor. It was important for the girl's father to see that the young man was capable of providing for the family and woodworking.

Sailors would often carve lovespoons during their long journeys, which is why anchors would often be incorporated into the carvings.

Certain symbols came to have specific meanings: a horseshoe for luck, a cross for faith, bells for marriage, hearts for love, a wheel supporting a loved one and a lock for security, among others. Caged balls indicated the number of children hoped for. Other difficult carvings, such as chains, were as much a demonstration of the carver's skill as a symbolic meaning.

Although the Welsh lovespoon is the most famous there are also traditions of lovespoons in Scandinavia and some parts of Eastern Europe, which have their own unique styles and techniques when it comes to the Lovespoon.

Today lovespoons are given as wedding and anniversary gifts, as well as birthday, baby gifts, Christmas or Valentine's Day gifts. They are now mostly seen as a folk craft.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Davies, John; Jenkins, Nigel; Menna, Baines et al., eds. (2008). The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. p. 523. ISBN 978-0-7083-1953-6. 
  2. ↑ Roese, Herbset E. (1988). Lovespoons in perspective 35. Cardiff: Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies. pp. 106–116. ISBN 978-0-7083-1953-6. 
  3. ↑ Roese, Herbert E. "The Lovespoon Story". lovespoons.250x.com. Retrieved 25 March 2011. 

Further reading

  • David Western (2008). The Fine Art of Carving Lovespoons. East Petersburg, Pennsylvania, US: Fox Chapel Publishers. ISBN 1-56523-374-3. 
  • Herbert E. Roese (1988). "Lovespoons in Perspective". The Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies 35: 106–116. 
  • Trefor M. Owen (1973/7). The Story of the Lovespoon. Swansea: Celtic Educational (Services). 
  • J.R.Allen (1906). "Welsh Wooden Spoons". Archaeologia Cambrensis. 6th series VI: 47–53. 

External links

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