St. James the Less Silver Apostle Spoon, 1603

This is a fine quality early 17th century silver apostle spoon dating from 1603. This was the year that marked the end of the Tudor period as the English crown passed from Queen Elizabeth I to the Stuart King James I and thus joining the English and Scottish crowns.

This apostle spoon has a fabulous cast figure of St James the Less to the terminal. The figure retains its original gilding, wears a nimbus with sacred dove emblem and carries his fullers bat in the left hand - this is a little unusual (but entirely genuine) as he is generally represented with the bat in the other hand. The original V-joint for the apostle finial remains visible

The spoon has a nice hefty weight and is in excellent condition. The bowl remains full-shape without signs of wear and is free of any denting. The finial is well-made and has good detail and the colour of the spoon is just how you would want it throughout. The bowl mark is a touch rubbed, but the stem marks are excellent with a clear 1603 date letter and fabulous maker's mark depicting a large and small crescent. This mark is shown in Jackson's Hallmarks (Pickford edition) as the 9th entry on page 104 - the owner of this mark remains unknown, but judging from this spoon, he was certainly a fine spoonmaker.