Code: 12303
A superb and rare Tudor silver spoon, dating to the early to mid 16th century. It has a deep pear-shaped bowl and a hexagonal tapering stem. The spoon bears a wrythen knop finial merging into a Seal top, this is clearly a good example of the evolution of this form of spoon. The seal top bears an owner's initial of a letter 'A' that can be used as a seal. It is a large example, of a hefty 66.75 grams or 2.14 Troy Ounces.
LITERATURE
Commander G. E. P. How and J. P. How, English and Scottish Silver Spoons, Mediaeval to Late Stuart and Pre-Elizabethan Hallmarks on English Plate, London, 1952, vol. I, p. 216, pl. XX.
D. J. E. Constable, The Benson Collection of Early Silver Spoons, Golden Cross, 2012, pp. 116-117, no. 42.
OBJECT: Seal-top spoon
CULTURE: Tudor
DATE: c. 1500 - 1560
MATERIAL: Silver
SIZE: 190mm x 56mm (7 1/2" x 2 1/4")
WEIGHT: 66.75 grams
PROVENANCE: Ex Horton collection; formerly with Bonhams, auction 17834, lot 71; found on the River Thames foreshore and recorded with the London Museum.