George IV Worshipful Company of Ironmongers Soup Ladle by William Eaton. London 1828

Rare and unusual George IV sterling silver Worshipful Company of Ironmongers soup ladle of substantial weight. The border of the bowl is decorated with a pie-crust, serrated edge. The long handle is in the fiddle pattern style. The end of the handle has the applied crest of the Worshipful Company of Ironmongers, showing two lizards erect, face to face, on a wreath, coupled with a chain. The full set of hallmarks are stamped on the back of the handle just where the fiddle pattern starts to widen and are very clear indeed.
Maker: William Eaton. London 1828

The early ironmongers sold iron in rods and bars to blacksmiths, farriers and other workers in metal as well as selling manufactured goods. London ironmongers are recorded as an organized body in 1300 when overseers were appointed to ensure proper standards of iron for cartwheels and generally to administer the trade. They became an incorporated company by a charter on 20th March, 1463 in the reign of Edward IV. The Company is one of the Great Twelve and is the tenth in order of precedence. The Ironmongers were first given their grant to arms in 1455. The two lizards on the crest are intended to represent salamanders. The salamander has been described by naturalists of old as a form of lizard alleged to withstand the hottest fire without harm. So the lizards symbolized the tempering process of the steel. Spoonmaking was probably William Eatons special trade and the fact that he was working next to the firm of Eley, Fearn and Chawner in 1828 suggests a connection.

Length: 14 inches (35.6cm)
Weight: 6 troy ounces (187 grams)