Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Silver, Room 68, The Whiteley Galleries

Sugar Tongs

Sugar Tongs
1951-1952 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The tea service to which these sugar tongs belong, was designed by Robert Goodden RDI, CBE (1909-2002), Professor of Silversmithing and Jewellery at the Royal College of Art, and made by Leslie Durbin MVO (1913-2005). It was intended for the Royal Pavilion on the Festival site and was used to serve tea to King George VI and Queen Elizabeth during the Royal visit to the Festival.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleSugar Tongs (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Silver, cast and parcel-gilt
Brief description
from the Festival of Britain tea service. Silver, parcel-gilt, designed by Robert Goodden, made by Leslie Durbin, London hallmarks for 1950-51
Physical description
The tongs, cast, are in the form of a pair of scissors, designed as a stylised fish; the upswept handle in the form of a double bow with finned edges, gilt, which extend along the upper and lower shanks. The screw forms the `eye', the extended cut and back form the `jaws' which are ridged on the inside edges and were originally gilt. A triangular `fin', gilt, is just to the rear of the eye on the upper shank, the lower shank and back of the blade is cross hatched to give the illusion of fish scales.
Dimensions
  • Height: 2.5cm
  • Length: 14cm
  • Width: 5cm
  • Weight: 88.8g
  • Weight: 2.85troy
Production typeUnique
Marks and inscriptions
  • London hallmarks for 1951-1952
  • Mark for the Festival of Britain
  • Mark of Leslie Durbin MVO, LLD.
Gallery label
Festival of Britain Tea Service Silver and parcel-gilt Designed by Robert Goodden and made by Leslie Durbin London, 1950-51 Museum no. M.176:A-C-1976 & M.58-1996 This tea service was commissioned for the Royal Pavilion at the Festival of Britain, a national exhibition held on the south bank of the Thames in London in 1951. It was used by George VI and Queen Elizabeth at the opening. Goodden trained as an architect but began to design silverware while still a student. The service is engraved with marine life and Gooden’s own rhyming couplets. (14.12.2023)
Object history
These tongs belong to the Festival of Britain tea service which the Museum acquired from N. Bloom and Sons in 1976 (M.176-C,-1976). The tongs were missing from the service when we acquired it and were presumed lost.

The tea service was designed by Robert Goodden RDI, CBE (1909-2002), Professor of Silversmithing and Jewellery at the Royal College of Art, and made by Leslie Durbin MVO (1913-2005). It was intended for the Royal Pavilion on the Festival site and was used to serve tea to King George VI and Queen Elizabeth during the Royal visit to the Festival.

Goodden was the nephew of RMY Gleadowe CVO (1888-1944), the distinguished silver designer. He was Professor at the Royal College of Art between 1948 and 1974 and Prime Warden of the Goldsmiths' Company, 1976-77. Leslie Durbin was a pupil of the Central School of Arts and Crafts and whilst there, held every single scholarship granted by the Goldsmiths' Company. In the 1950s he taught part time at the Royal College. He made the Stalingrad sword to Gleadowe's design in 1944 and subsequently made much plate for city livery companies, universities and other corporate bodies. He retired in 1975.

A duplicate set of tongs were made by Durbin in 1982 and presented to the Department of Metalwork as a gift from him (M.80-1982). Despite being made from the original moulds and by the same maker, a comparison of the two shows immediately how different they are. The gilding on the original is more refined, some of the details such as the fins near the pi are more delicate but the most obvious difference is the upswept handles on the original which greatly facilitate their use.
Summary
The tea service to which these sugar tongs belong, was designed by Robert Goodden RDI, CBE (1909-2002), Professor of Silversmithing and Jewellery at the Royal College of Art, and made by Leslie Durbin MVO (1913-2005). It was intended for the Royal Pavilion on the Festival site and was used to serve tea to King George VI and Queen Elizabeth during the Royal visit to the Festival.
Associated objects
Collection
Accession number
M.59-1996

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
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