Elizabeth I Silver Seal Top Spoon, 1595 by Patrick Brue

We are pleased to be offering a fine example of an Elizabethan silver seal top spoon made by Patrick Brue who was one of the most important Tudor period silver spoonmakers.

This is an early form of seal top spoon with a hexagonal top plate to the cushion-shaped finial with engraved “RT” initials. This type of cast finial was in use from the mid to late 16th century and is quite a scarce variation on the usual cast finial.

The spoon has a good, unworn fig-shaped bowl and hexagonal stem, plus the original V-notch solder join between finial and stem can be clearly seen. The spoon has an excellent set of hallmarks with a clear leopard’s head crowned for London to the bowl and the maker’s mark, lion passant (guaranteeing Sterling standard silver) and date letter “S” for 1595 to the back of the stem.

The maker’s mark is a crescent enclosing a mullet (5-point star) and was a workshop mark originally used by Nicholas Bartholomew and likely passed on to his former apprentice Patrick Brue at the time of his retirement. Patrick Brue was apprenticed to Bartholomew in 1562 and in turn was master to important succeeding spoonmakers that included William Cawdell, John Lovejoy, John Round and Daniel Cary.

This is an excellent Elizabethan seal top spoon in fine original condition.