Miniature Gardening Spade and Fork Serving Utensils
Silver-Plated Boxed Victorian Set

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Victorian Silver Serving Utensils
Victorian Silver Serving Utensils

Leather case, closed

 Victorian Silver Serving Utensils

Shown above at actual size
Miniature Gardening Spade and Fork Serving Utensils
British: Late 19th Century
Silver-plated utensils with bone shafts
Black leather with purple velvet and satin lining, box
7.75 x 3.75 x 1 inches, box
Sold, please inquire as to the availability of similar items.

Pair of Victorian serving utensils in the form of miniature gardening tools, in their original leather boxed case.  The cake server is in the form of a spade shovel, engraved with a curvilinear design, and with bone handle and shovel handle.  The fork, en suite with engraved design, is slightly more typical in form, though in this context akin to a pitch fork, particularly with its shovel handle. They might have been designed for serving small cakes or condiments, for example at breakfast or afternoon tea. 

The use of novelty forms was common in Victorian decorative arts, in this case likely to appeal to someone interesting in gardening.  Indeed, larger Victorian silver serving pieces in the shape of trowels are fairly common, often made as Masonic presentations.  In a similar vein, it is also conceivable that this spade and fork set was made as a custom presentation for a ground breaking ceremony, though extant presentation silver spades for this purpose are generally much larger and engraved with pertinent information relating to the event being celebrated.