Silver Restoration Period Apostle Spoon, London 1660

This is a magnificent late example of a silver apostle spoon.

Made in the year of the Restoration, this spoon bears all the traits of an apostle spoon from the early Charles II period - the final throes of the type, before giving way to the simpler forms of the late 17th and 18th centuries. The wide stem has a flattened appearance more akin to contemporary puritan and trefid spoons than earlier apostle spoons, although it remains hexagonal in profile. The bowl is typically mid-17th century too being shallower and more rounded than earlier equivalents.

The main focus of attention with this spoon is the superbly modelled, gilt, apostle figure depicting St. James the Greater. The detail is spectacular and has been cast complete with his pilgrim staff emblem. Rarely have we seen such fine details to the face, hands and sandalled feet. 

The condition is fabulous with crisp detail as described above to the finial and a nice thick rim to the bowl. The bowl mark is a little rubbed, but the stem marks include an excellent I.I maker's mark for the specialist spoonmaker Jeremy Johnson.

Spoons from this period are scarce as few were made during the latter years of the Commonwealth. Those that were produced tend to be plain in form (puritans and slip tops), so presumably the owner of this spoon was celebrating the return of the monarchy and freedom of expression to commission an apostle spoon that would have been a hark back to the pre-English Civil War years. Within a few years, apostle spoons were unfashionable and none were made after the 1670's.