Recollection: A Silver Spoon from Duke Visconti

The Holiday Season is over. It is time to put all the decorations, cards and presents away. Along the years I have received many presents from family and friends. I have also been given some from other persons. When I came to the USA I received a lovely china cup from the president of the first company where I worked in San Francisco. Years later, after having worked at several part-time positions while my daughters were little, I had my first full-time job at a small company in Atlanta. The majority owner and president was an Italian, Duke Visconti di Modrone. His company owned a dozen “plantations” (meaning large crop farms) in Georgia and Florida. Because I spoke Italian and French I was hired as Office Manager for the small staff. At the time I only knew the name “Visconti” from the well-known Italian director Luchino Visconti. Below is the poster from one of his movies.

“The Leopard” (Il Gattopardo) 1963 movie of Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo (1906-1976)

In the office I had seen a large illustrated book showing all the houses of the Viscontis, starting with one in the 1200s. I had not realized that the Viscontis were aristocrats of great lineage – they were an important Italian noble dynasty of the Middle Ages. Their history is long – the first well known Visconti was elected Pope Gregory the X (1271-1276.) Another descendant, Anna Visconti, was the mother of Pope Gregory the XIV (1590-91.) A cousin of this pope was a forefather of my employer, Duke Visconti di Modrone of Milan. From 1277 to 1500 the Visconti and Sforza families ruled the city of Milan in Italy. The biggest parts of the Gothic and Renaissance masterpieces were created during their rule.

Palace of the Marquesses Castelli, in Milan, Italy. This engraving shows Palazzo Visconti di Modrone in Milan, published around 1745.

This palace in Milan now houses the museum of modern art and the Duomo museum. The above information I had to find on my own as Duke Visconti was very self-effacing, kind and friendly. All the furniture in our office had been imported from Milan. My desk was made of dark wood and stainless steel in a very avant-garde style. The office was in a high rise building in the Buckhead area of Atlanta. I spoke Italian and French with the duke and other European aristocrats who visited him. It was a fun and enjoyable position. One Christmas he gave the ladies in our office (about 6 of us) a lovely marble photo frame. Another Christmas he gave me an antique silver spoon. We had a delicious catered Christmas luncheon with gourmet food – this was also the Duke’s birthday since he was born on December 25, 1927.

The silver spoon from Duke Uberto Visconti di Modrone, Marchese of Vimodrone with a later picture of him.

Later on I was surprised to be offered a position in a large corporation very close to my home. It was with a heavy heart that I gave up my work at the Duke’s company, but the Atlanta traffic was starting to be pretty heavy and it was more convenient to be closer to my home. His gift started me looking for other little silver spoons at flea markets and antique stores and I found several.

Click on picture to enlarge

Over the years, what started as a Christmas gift became a small collection. I have even added some sugar spoons to my collection as shown below




and just last week-end at the Atlanta Scott flea market, I found a jelly spoon, as shown below.




These spoons are an elegant addition to a cup of tea or with a book from the same era.

Click on collage to enlarge, then click on each picture to biggify

Looking for a history on these teaspoons I came upon a blog called “The Five O’Clock teaspoon” where the introduction says “Distinguished from the average teaspoon by its diminutive size, the five o'clock teaspoon was a requisite accoutrement for the afternoon tea ritual that became popular in Britain and America in the second half of the 19th century.”

The Cup of Tea, by Mary Cassatt, American 1844-1926

It is always satisfying to drink a cup of tea in the garden

Afternoon Tea, by Richard Miller, American 1875-1943

or indoor when the weather is not so kind.

Afternoon Tea, by Richard T Moynan, Irish, 1856-1906

I’ll never forget the silver spoon given to me by Duke Visconti and I cherish it. Sadly I found out that the Duke passed away on December 29, 2001. His family donated several millions of dollars to St Joseph Hospital in Atlanta in his and his late wife's memory, the Duchess Antonella. The Visconti Center for Robotics houses multiple, minimally-invasive robotic technologies for cardiac, urology, thoracic, gynecologic and general surgery procedures. It is considered the most comprehensive program of robotic technologies in the Southeast, if not in the whole country.
In my next post I’ll show pictures of another lovely Christmas present I received many years ago.

Tea, by Mary Cassatt, American 1844-1926


o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Note: Several months after publishing the above post I received an email from Duke Visconti’s daughter, Chiara. I was very surprised and so thankful that she would take the time to send me a note. Below is the email –

Hello,
My husband came across your blog randomly yesterday and forwarded it to me.
I was very touched to hear the part about my father Uberto, and it makes me so proud to read years after his death lovely stories such as your own.
I just wanted to drop a line to say thank you, for keeping his memory alive in such a touching and sweet way, I greatly appreciated it.
He was a wonderful man and is very much missed.
Fond Regards,
Chiara