Flameback Silver Trefid Teaspoon, c.1690

This is a rare silver trefid teapoon with one of the most sought after designs - the flameback.

The engraved design to both front and back is all original and culiminates in the flames around the rattail to the reverse of the bowl. The flamboyant terminal is an especially pleasing feature and as so many of these small spoons are unmarked, it is a bonus to find a maker's stamp within the design.

The condition of the spoon is excellent with a full, unworn bowl and crisp engraving. The maker's mark is "CA" with a flowerhead below and two pellets above - the closest match being the mark of Charles Adam but as a specialist caster maker this would seem unlikely.

The flameback design is a clear determinator in dating this spoon to circa 1690. Teaspoons from this period are scarce as tea was still a newly arrived commodity (first imported circa 1650) that was consumed by only the very wealthiest.