Duhme & Co Antique Coin Silver 'Bust' Design Cheese Scoop, Cincinnati, OH, c. 1860s

This cheese scoop is a beautiful and rare example of this form. The twist handle is very dramatic leading up to connectors surmounted with a wonderful cast female bust, the details of which are spectacular. The gilt bowl has curved sides for coring out pieces of your favorite stilton.

In a Silver Magazine article by Dale E. Bennett, there is an identical cheese scoop pictured and described: "Duhme Bust pieces are much rarer than Gorham Mfg. Company's Bust items."(1)

Duhme & Co. was from Cincinnati, Ohio, and made wonderful silver. Herman Duhme was born in Germany in 1819. From humble beginnings, Duhme built the finest silversmith and jewelry establishment in Cincinnati; they were known as 'the Tiffany of Cincinnati.' Their items are uniformly well made, usually with interesting design features.

Provenance:Collection of Dale E. Bennett.

Heritage Auctions, November 6-7, 2008, lot 71230

Private Collection

Literature: "Please Pass the Stilton: An Illustrated History of Cheese Scoops" in Silver Magazine, Nov/Dec 2008.

This magnificent scoop is marked 'DUHME & CO.' It measures just over 9 inches long, weighs 3.65 troy ounces, and is in very good antique condition with light scratching and wear to the original gilding.

Endnote:

    1. Dale E. Bennett, "Please Pass the Stilton: An Illustrated History of Cheese Scoops" in Silver Magazine, Nov/Dec 2008, pp. 37-38.