It was a very minor part of his commission to furnish Miss Cranston’s Willow Tea Rooms in Glasgow which included Rennie Mackintosh’s iconic, and now extremely costly, chairs.
At the June 19 Etwall sale the trefoil-terminal spoon made by Chase Brothers, Sheffield, was pitched at £30-50 but it sold at £250 to a European buyer.
The original Willow Tea Rooms building at 217 Sauchiehall Street, dating from 1903, opened again to the public this month, following a £10m restoration and support from Heritage Lottery Fund and other backers. A new visitor centre has been built next-door, at 215 Sauchiehall Street.
The tea rooms and visitor centre will come under the name of Mackintosh at the Willow, with the official opening of the whole site set for September.
