Vintage Canal Art Wooden Spoon in Black with Painted Roses

Roses on a black ground have brightened British waterways since the days of the working narrowboat, and this wooden spoon brings that tradition into the kitchen. Each bowl is painted with a pair of plump cabbage roses in claret and blush pink, lifted with quick white brushstrokes and framed by green leaves, while the long black handle is dotted with little cream chevrons all the way down to a metal hanging loop at the end.

Canal art, often called bargeware, grew up on the narrowboats of the nineteenth century, when boat families decorated everything from water cans to cabin doors with roses and castles. Spoons like this were made for canal gift shops and boat fairs. The roses sit on the back of the bowl, which makes them made for hanging on a wall, and the brushwork is lively and loose, just as this style should be.

Each spoon measures 31cm long, 5.5cm across the bowl and 1cm deep, and weighs around 50g. We have twelve of them, and this listing is for one spoon, so you can choose a single one or hang a whole row. They have been well loved. There are chips and rubs to the paint, especially around the joint in the handle and along the edges of the bowl, and the metal loops have some light rust. We think the chippy paint is part of their charm, but it does mean they are for decoration only and not for stirring the soup.

Hang one beside the cooker with a small oil painting and a pretty plate for a little kitchen gallery, or line up three or four along a dresser shelf for a cheerful folk art display. They would also look lovely on a narrowboat, in a cottage hallway, or wrapped up as a present for anyone who loves the canals.