Ramekin Forks

Eventually most dinnerware is upgraded for more affluent diners.  This is also the case with ramekins.  Silver tableware had been around for quite a few centuries but in America towards the end of the nineteenth century, a number of makers started producing sterling silver ramekin holders with porcelain inserts.  Usually produced in the Eastern United States to cater to the burgeoning middle classes, these sets were made by the top silversmiths, for example, Tiffany sold their own sets made with Lenox porcelain.  To go with these myriad sets, ramekin forks were developed. 

 A ramekin fork is probably best described as a hybrid spoon.   Known in the US as flatware, they have short wide tines and a lightly curved bowl attached to a handle because they are meant to only pick up a small amount of food at a steep angle from inside a ramekin bowl. 

Collectors can be deceived because some unscrupulous people will remodel an old teaspoon and call it a ramekin fork.  This was done by some of the original makers to use up their old stock and some made by individual makers.  It will have the right hallmarks but could be a modern forgery.  Some are old forgeries because some seconds were remade at the time.  Some later ramekin forks were made in stainless steel.  There are also some European makers of sterling silver ramekins, such as Limoges but in the main it appears to be a particularly American trend, mostly in the New England area and around New York.

Not only did these makers produce ramekin forks, they also made myriad other forks for specific purposes.  The following is a list of many, but probably not all of them.

Asparagus	Corn	Luncheon	Salad
Baked Potato	Crab	Mango	Scallop
Barbecue	Desert	Meat	Seafood
Berry	Dinner	Melon	Serving
Bird	Escargot (Snail)	Olive	Souffle
Breakfast	Fish	Oyster	Spaghetti
Cake	Fondue	Pastry	Strawberry
Canape	Fruit	Pate	Tea
Carving	Garden	Pickle	Toasting
Cheese	Grille	Pie	Terrapin
Cherry	Ice Cream	Pitch	Viande
Cocktail	Lettuce	Place
Cold Cuts	Lobster	Ramekin

Way back in the seventies, that decade that style forgot but keeps talking about, splayds were an essential gift for any newly married couple.  They are the closest thing to a ramekin fork today, but are much larger.  Look up other images for ramekin forks and you will see what I mean but don’t look for any more of them on my site because they can be quite expensive.  I copied these pictures.

Evans (Byrne) Jill

Designer	Jill Evans
Maker	Jill Evans
Marks	Painted signature “Jill E” in black to base
Material	Clay
Description	Wheel thrown curve shallow sided bowl with short trumpet handle angled outward at dimpled end.  Glazed foot-ring.  Off-White gloss glaze to exterior with harlequin gloss glaze to interior.  Striped decoration to handle with wavy line to exterior of rim in black.
Condition	Good, spur marks to base
Number	No number
Production Date	1950s
Width at rim	110mm
Width at Base	75mm
Depth	35mm
Length (with handle)	143mm
Weight	220gm
Volume	250ml
Acquisition	Australian Pottery at Bemboka
Rameking Reference Number	JEV-001-004

Nothing known about this lady except what is written by Geoff Ford.  Any other information would be appreciated.  "Evans Jill (1935-)  (Later Jill Byrne).  In the early 1950s, she studied pottery and art under Mary Atkin at the Gordon Technical College in Geelong.  She made a few wheel thrown vases, bottles etc. thickly glazed and was a member of the Geelong Ceamic Club.  Some pieces were marked “Jill E” early to late 50s, inscribed or painted “Jill Byrne’ early to mid 60s."  From Ford, Geoff Encyclopaedia of Australian Pottery Marks (1998) Salt Glaze Press, Australia ISBN 0 646 31071 2