Charles I Silver Seal Top Spoon by Thomas Hodges, 1638

This a fine example of a Charles I period silver seal top spoon with gilt, decorated baluster finial.

The spoon was made the specialist London-based spoonmaker Thomas Hodges and bears a good set of hallmarks that include the conjoined "TH" mark of the maker. Thomas Hodges had been apprenticed to the specialist spoonmaker Daniel Cary in 1626.

This seal top shows all the features that you would expect from a spoon of this period: hexagonal stem, fig-shaped bowl with crowned lion stamp and dot-prick engraved initials ("E*P")to the flat plate of the seal terminal. The condition is excellent with an unworn bowl and the decorative features of the finial still showing.