Elizabeth I Silver Maidenhead Spoon, 1592

We are pleased to offer an especially fine example of a silver Maidenhead spoon dating from the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

The spoon has an excellent, full and unworn fig-shaped bowl with a lovely antique patina. The cast, maidenhead finial retains its original gilt finish and the majority of the detail too. The hallmarks are in fine condition with a particularly clear set of marks to the bottom of the hexagonal stem including the "C" enclosing a "W" mark of the major spoonmaker William Cawdell. This is an excellent example of an Elizabethan maidenhead spoon.

William Cawdell was one of the most prolific spoonmakers of the late Tudor and early Stuart periods and an important component of the main dynasty of master/apprentice spoonmakers through the 16th and 17th centuries.