Fancy Bowl Victorian Sterling Berry Spoon

The plain, reverse tipt handle on this 8 9/16" long, approximately 1.7 T. oz., berry spoon belies its highly decorative bowl. Marked only "Sterling," the plum-shaped bowl with flanged shoulders was commonly used by Whiting and Knowles. Both of those firms also commonly left pieces unmarked, so one of those two companies is the likely maker. It dates c. 1870-80. The bowl has a frosted, pale gold finish and is precisely bright cut and engraved on both the interior and flanged edges. The handle is engraved "Lizzie" in a fancy script. The piece is in virtually unused condition.