Pair antique Bead pattern silver sauce ladles

Pair of good quality antique, hand-forged silver sauce ladles in the Bead pattern.

Known as Old English Bead, this silver cutlery pattern was created by the pre-eminent English lady silversmith, Hester Bateman, whose late 18th century design featured a simple beaded border on the Old English shape and in a neoclassical style.

Although the use of ladles in Europe can be traced back to the Roman era, and the production of silver flatware made in England from as early as the 13th century, silver ladles were not widespread until the mid-18th century, following the rise in popularity of the silver soup tureen. Silver ladles were quickly produced in many shapes and sizes, and the number of ladle types seems to have grown with the emergence of silver sauce ladles, stew ladles, slotted ladles and punch ladles, to name just a few.