Decorated Puritan Spoon, Barnstaple

Silver puritan spoons with these distinctive, engraved, floral designs are known to emanate from the Devon town of Barnstaple - see figure 63 (page 21) of "Barnstaple Silver" and Plate C (page 151) in "West Country Silver Spoons & Their Makers", both by Tim Kent. These spoons all date from the 1660-1670 period and were made by a number of the town's silversmiths, notably John Peard. The spoon being offered was made by the unknown "WH" and bears his conjoined mark to the bowl and twice to the reverse of the stem.

The engraving on this spoon is a very pleasing design and remains crisp. The spoon is in generally good condition, however and although bowls on this type of spoon are typically quite small, this bowl seems to be more reduced in size than normal. Overall this is a great example of a very rare form, with further research necessary to identify the maker.