Henry VIII Silver Apostle Spoon, London 1532 by Robert Amadas

This is an exceptional silver apostle spoon made by the goldsmith to Henry VIII during a turbulent time in British history.

The spoon is of the very highest quality, (just look at the detailing to the cast apostle figure) with a nice solid feel in the hand. The apostle depicts St James The Greater with his pilgrim's staff and spoked nimbus to his head. The figure is in crisp condition, with fine detailing and original gilding still intact - you rarely see equal quality at any period, never mind better.

The bowl is typically deep and fig-shaped as one would expect for the Tudor period and the hexagonal stem tapers slightly towards the finial. The bowl is stamped with an excellent leopard's head and as the spoon pre-dates the introduction of the lion passant in 1544,  the stem bears just the two requisite marks - date letter "P" for 1532 and the heart (within a heart-shaped punch) maker's mark for Robert Amadas - both clearly visible.

Working in London between 1499 and 1532, Robert Amadas was goldsmith to King Henry VIII. He was apprenticed to his father William Amadas and eventually reached the status of Prime Warden in 1524 and again in 1530 as well as becoming a deputy Master of the Mint. His most important position was as Master to the King's Jewel House (1524-1532), which meant he was responsible for running the Jewel House that houses the Crown Jewels. This was a position he held until his death and was succeded by the powerful Thomas Cromwell. The list of executers of his will shows that Robert Amadas moved in circles of high status, these being Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk (uncle to Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard), Sir Thomas More (Lord High Chancellor of England 1529-32) and Richard Rich, 1st Baron Rich (Lord Chancellor 1547-52).

Robert Amadas is one of the few English silversmiths to have his own Wikipedia page! See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Amadas

This spoon is almost 500 years old and yet it remains in fabulous condition. The bowl retains its thick rim and the detailing to the apostle figure is quite stunning.

To place this spoon in a historical context, in 1527 Henry VIII expressed his wish to have his marriage with Catherine of Aragorn annulled. Following several acts of Parliament between 1532 and 1534, a new Church of England was formed with Henry at its head giving him the licence to annul the marriage in 1533. With a position of influence, Robert Amadas whilst busy making this spoon was no doubt aware of the machinations around him.

Any Henrician spoon is rare, but this is also a first class spoon by an important maker and in wonderful condition. This spoon is as good as it gets with early spoons and you will go a long way before finding anything better.

Finally, with a collection of 69 gold spoons and 350 silver spoons stated in the inventory of plate following Henry VIII's death in 1547, Henry was one of the earliest spoon collectors and who knows for whom this spoon was made...