Mons 1693–1694, Four Forks And Four Spoons, Solid Silver, Jacques I Levieux

Rare set of four solid silver cutlery pieces
Mons, 1693–1694
Jacques-Philippe I Levieux, admitted as a master in 1691

A set of four spoons and four forks in solid silver, of the plain, flat design. The handles gradually widen into rounded spatulas, without decoration, whose simplicity highlights the elegance of the proportions. The spoons feature oval bowls with a tab-shaped attachment on the reverse. The forks have four long tines.

The set bears the hallmarks of Mons, including notably the city’s castle, the annals letters X on the spoons and Y on the forks—corresponding, according to the reproduced documentation, to 1693–1694—as well as the master’s mark featuring the crowned letters IL, accompanied by an oak tree, belonging to Jacques-Philippe I Levieux.

The particular interest of this set lies in the antiquity of its four-tined forks. Pieces made before 1710 in the cities of present-day Belgium are rare; this set of four forks, accompanied by four spoons by the same silversmith, constitutes a particularly interesting example of Mons table silverware from the late 17th century.

Born around 1670 and granted master status in 1691, Jacques-Philippe I Levieux was based in Mons, where he was a citizen. He died there on November 12, 1733. This set of cutlery thus dates from the very early years of his career, two to three years after he became a master silversmith.

Bibliography: Raymonde Stilmant, *Les Orfèvres de Mons du XIIIe au XIXe siècle*, Mons, 2019, entry on Jacques-Philippe I Levieux.