John King Trefid Spoon, 1683

This is a good quality silver trefid spoon with a nice hefty weight and is typical of the calibre one would expect from the workshop of the premier spoonmaker, John King. The spoon has a bold rattail to the underside of the bowl and original block engraved initials to the reverse terminal. The hallmarks are crisp and the spoon is in excellent condition throughout with a good patina.

John King was part of a major dynasty of spoonmakers stretching across the 16th and 17th centuries with his master being William Cary (in turn apprenticed to Daniel Cary to Patrick Brue to Nicholas Bartholomew) and he himself employing Adam King, Lawrence Jones, Thomas Allen, Israel Pinckney and John Clifton among his apprentices, all of whom went on to become top spoonmakers in their own right.