Sterling Silver
Shrine Spoon
from the 28th
Imperial Council Session
held in San
Francisco, California in 1902
This beautiful spoon is
from the 28th Imperial Council Session held June 10th, 1902 at Golden Gate Hall
in San Francisco. It has a deep-relief handle, a portrait of the Imperial
Potentate, applied scimitar with the traditional camel pulling along new
initiates who are told "Don't let go of the rope!" (which is the camel's tail)
often reenacted annually at local Shrine Ceremonials! Ha! Ha! The
scimitar and several elements of the handle are gold washed. Also depicted
is the bear, an emblem on the Great Seal of the State of California. The
heavily gold washed two-tone bowl has more Shrine symbolism, a beautiful
engraving of the Cliff House and clipper ship, and reads, “CLIFF HOUSE SAN
FRANCISCO JUNE 9 TO 15 1902”. Reverse of handle shows other traditional
California views (warrior, miner) and reads “Designed & Copyrighted by A.
Andrews Diamond Palace S.F. Cal. 849." This is a very scarce and heavy
spoon. It measures over 5 1/2 inches in length and was made by Sheibler.
A
special "Thanks" is given to Beth Jacobson, an avid spooner and collector for
submitting her pictures and description of this wonderful spoon.
