A molinet is a stirrer for hot chocolate, The handle was put through the removable lid of the chocolate pot. The lid was then put back on with the handle sticking out so the server could whip up the contents before pouring. With better emulsifiers for powdered chocolate, molinets were no longer necessary, and so were melted. They are now so rare that dealers often don’t know what they are. The last one we bought in an auction was being sold as a mace.

Michael Clayton mentions a molinet “made by John LeSage in 1739” which may well be this one (see Clayton, M., “The Collector's Dictionary of Silver and Gold of Great Britain and North America”, Antique Collector's Club 1971, page 248).