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Apostle spoon (St John)
Silver-gilt
Origin: Probably Barnstable
Date: Early 17th century
17.6 cm length; 48 g weight
Bequeathed by A.T. Carter, 1947; WA1947.79
T. Schroder (2009), no. 326
The distinctive decoration of the bowl and stem associates this spoon with the Quick family of goldsmiths and is almost identical to a seal-top dated to c.1590-1630. The finial is one of the most long-lived London-types and may well be a replacement.
Information derived from T. Schroder, British and Continental Gold and Silver in the Ashmolean (2009)
Seal-top: The seal-top finial dates from the first quarter of the sixteenth century. Its name refers to the shape of the finial. There is no indication that they were actually used as seal intaglios. The suggestion has been put forward that they were originally plinths to lost figural models.