Cowrie Shell Caddy Spoon

Shell mounted caddy spoons are always pleasing on the eye, however this spoon is particularly handsome with its attractive cowrie shell and well made silver mounts and fiddle & thread shaped handle.As was generally the case with shell mounted spoons, this Georgian example is marked just once with the "ML" mark of the sought after Birmingham silversmith, Matthew Linwood. It can be dated pretty accurately from the fashion for this form of spoon being in the first decade of the 19th century and this ties in nicely with the working period for the maker. Crucially the condition is fine throughout with neither damage nor repair to either silver or shell.