Antique Silver Mote Spoons & Tea Strainers

Antique silver mote spoons were used for skimming dust motes from the surface of a cup of tea; a common problem for tea drinkers at a time when the product was carried in wooden chests and the long tapering stem enabled the unblocking of teapot spouts. Mote spoons were made from the late 17th century to about 1770 when they were superseded by the tea caddy spoon.

Silver tea strainers with a combined handle and balance for sitting over a cup, first appeared in the late Victorian period and are often, but not always, twinned with a drip cup.