A Winchester 1905 'Trusty Servant' Silver Cayenne Pepper Pot & Spoon

Manufacturer - F J Ross, High Street, Winchester

Date - 1905

Description - This is a rare and truly fascinating piece, filled with rich emblematic symbolism. The figure’s silver head is formed with ass’s ears and a swine’s snout, from which a padlock is suspended. His feet are those of a deer, while the remainder of the body is human.

He stands upright, raising his open right hand, and in his left he carries the implements of service—a brush, a prong, and a currycomb. He is dressed in a full‑dress livery coat, girded with a sword, and bears a shield upon his left arm.

This remarkable combination of attributes is steeped in allegory, and its meaning is traditionally explained in accompanying verses that decode the virtues and duties embodied by the figure :-
'A Trusty Servant's Portrait would you see,
This Emblematic Figure well Survey.
The Porker's Snout not Nice in diet shows;
The Padlock Shut, no Secrets he'll disclose;
Patient the Ass, his Master's wrath will bear;
Swiftness in Errand, the Stagg's feet declare;
Loaded his left Hand, apt to Labour saith;
The Vest his Neatness; Open hand his Faith;
Girt with his Sword, his Shield upon his Arm,
Himself and Master he'll protect from Harm'
These are all distinctive virtues that the students of Winchester College are meant to follow!
The Trusty Servant figure is based on a painting 'The Trusty Servant', devised by John Hoskins in 1579. The mural painting hangs near the kitchen at Winchester College.

Condition - The glass jar and the silver figure are both in very good condition

Hallmark - The cayenne pepper spoon has a manufacturer's cypher for 'F J Ross' and a Chester date cypher for '1905' - Edward VII period

Dimensions - Maximum height: 10.5cm

Weight - Silver weight: 23gms