Suikerstrooilepel met ronde, opengewerkte bak en steel met spits toelopend uiteinde c. 1807 - 1809

This is a sugar-sprinkling spoon with a round, open-worked bowl and a handle with a tapered end, made of silver by Theodorus Gerardus Bentvelt. Bentvelt lived during a time of immense social change, straddling the line between the Dutch Republic and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Silver objects like this sugar spoon were not just functional; they were signifiers of wealth and status in a society deeply stratified by class. Consider how the act of sprinkling sugar, once a rare commodity produced by enslaved people, speaks volumes about colonialism, trade, and taste. As you look at this spoon, think about how this simple object connects to larger networks of power and privilege. Silverware like this would have been common in households of the wealthy, where sugar consumption was a daily ritual.