Elizabeth I Silver Seal Top Spoon, 1561

This is an excellent example of an Elizabeth I silver seal top spoon with a great set of London hallmarks and nice feel and balance in the hand.

The spoon has typical features of a seal top spoon dating from the early years of the Elizabethan period with its fig-shaped bowl, hexagonal stem and squat finial. The cast finial retains good detail and even some of its original gilding, plus an original and typically untidy v-notch joint to the stem. The bowl is in good order with no loss of shape and a clearly punched leopard's head mark. 

This 16th century spoon remains in fine condition with a good, antique patina and London hallmarks that include a legible date letter and an interesting maker's mark - a "B" within a radiant circle that we have so far been unable to identify.