Very rare c1728-1730 Jeremiah Lee Georgian rat tailed sterling silver mote spoon

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Very rare c1728-1730 Jeremiah Lee Georgian rat tailed sterling silver mote spoon:
$224.99

NOTE: WE WILL NOT RELIST THIS ITEM. We are listing this very rare early (c1728-1730) Georgian rat tailed sterling silver decoratively pierced mote spoon (or tea strainer, as they were called in the 1700s) by the London silversmith Jeremiah Lee. Mote spoons are one of the most decorative and rarely seen pieces of specialized silverware used by the Georgian gentry - in this case to remove the tea leaves from the brewed tea, and then use the spiked end to clean out any debris in the spout (at a time when tea was a scarce and valuable commodity, and the drinking of tea was very much a social activity of the upper class). Mote spoons were first made in the very late 1600s, and were seldom produced beyond the 1770s. This particular mote spoon is a rather early one, probably dating to circa 1728 -1730, based on its very narrow handle, the maker\'s mark and its position on the back of the bowl (instead of the handle), the lack of a lion passant mark, and the rat tail to the back of the bowl (a design that had pretty much died out by the 1730s).
The maker\'s mark on the back of the bowl is an IL within an oval - this mark was registered in 1728 by the London silversmith Jeremiah Lee (see page 110 of Grimwade\'s London Goldsmiths 1697-1837). There is also a tiny hand incised T monogram at the base of the rat tail. The decorative piercing is very nice, and of a design similar to other mote spoons of that period (the similarity of the pierced designs on spoons by different makers has led to the suggestion that there may have even been specialists who did the piercing for multiple silversmiths). The spoon is over 5 1/8 inches long, weighs .2 ounces, and is in very good condition for its age and use - there is a small amount of surface roughness on the handle and bowl, and the bowl seems slightly crimped toward the back, so a small amount of very old repair cannot be ruled out. Please view the closeup pictures and judge for yourself (the spoon has not been professionally polished). Georgian mote spoons are rather rare pieces of silver, and one this old and well marked is definitely a rare find.

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