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MOTE SPOON
MOTE SKIMMER
The silver mote spoon (silver mote skimmer) is a type of spoon having a bowl with a pierced pattern of small holes, used
to skim off floating particles of tea leaves and motes (tea dust) from a cup of tea. The handle is thin and
tapering, with a sharpened point.
These strainer spoons are almost exclusively English, they are not common in Scotland, Ireland or on the
continent of Europe, although a few were made in America.
Their production in England was almost entirely
confined to London workshops and this production continued until about the seventeen seventies.
They were
referred to as tea strainers in the Plate Offences Act of 1738 and in other documentary references
throughout the 18th century but how exactly they were used has remained a mystery.
In the 19th century they were renamed 'mote spoons' or 'mote skimmers' and this name has stuck
(courtesy David McKinley/ASCAS). |
They are one of the most unusual and intriguing forms of collectable spoon and it's purpose has caused much
debate. The use as a punch, tea or lemon strainer, sugar sifter, olive spoon, caddy spoon and others have
all been put forward as possible uses, but the most likely use was to skim the surface of tea with its
pierced bowl. Mote spoons are generally teaspoon sized and were made from the late 17th Century through to
the 1770’s. The pierced bowls vary from simple round holes to elaborate decoration
MORE
Mote Spoon - A fraudolent conversion
The Significance of Mote Spoon Piercing
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