Successful Identification - Etruscan Ice Cream Spoon

The following comment was attached to our post, "About Soup Spoons". I think we have responded with a successful answer so I'm posting it here to brag a bit!

Hi, I have a question & hope someone can help me. I have 12 Gorham Etruscan spoons. Both are measuring at 5 3/8". One set of six has a bit of a lip on both sides of the bowl, closest to the stem of the spoon & a bit more of a fan shaped bowl than the 5 O'clock spoon. What type of spoon is the one with the lip?

I suggested to the author that pictures be emailed to me. Here are the two that were sent. The color, brightness and contrast were adjusted by me to try to define the edges a little better.

I located some pictures of Etruscan ice cream spoons on a couple of dealer web sites and sent links to the person who left the question. It appears that we have identified the spoon correctly as an ice cream spoon. If anyone has a differing opinion, comments are welcome.

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About Soup Spoons

Soup spoons are fairly straightforward in most patterns. The key points to be concerned with are:

• Bowl shape
• Length

We think the most versatile soup spoon is one that has an oval shape bowl like the one in the picture below.
Many patterns include oval bowl spoons like this in at least two different lengths. Most will be about 7 inches long plus or minus 1/4 inch. One of the lengths may be designated as a "place" soup spoon. This type spoon may also be designated as a "soup/dessert" spoon. Sometimes, you will see this spoon designated as a "tablespoon" or "serving spoon". We think these are incorrect designations.

Another bowl shape for soup spoons is round The cream soup spoon in the picture below is an example.These spoons generally have one of these designations:

• Bouillon (around 5 1/4 inches long)
• Cream soup (around 6 1/4 inches long)
• Gumbo (around 6 3/4 inches long)

Each pattern will have its own specific lengths but they will be in the ballpark of our estimates.

Sellers do not always describe these spoons accurately so make sure you understand the bowl shape and the length. If you do, you'll probably buy the right spoon.

Click on any picture to see a larger version. By clicking on "Comments" below, you can see posted comments and add your own questions/comments.