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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.