Irish Dog Nose Spoon, 1701

This is a super example of a very rare Queen Anne period Irish dog nose spoon. The spoon has a really good weight in the hand and is in lovely all round condition with the full-shaped bowl retaining its lip. It bears an interesting betrothal engraving to the reverse terminal. The engraving all appears to be original and in betrothal triangle form - however the upper "M" that denotes the happy couple's surname is suffixed by a "C" which presumably relates to a "Mc" surname (e.g. McCall).

The spoon was made by Joseph Walker and this maker's mark can be seen in "Collecting Irish Silver" by Douglas Bennett as reference 325. The date letter is part worn, but can be seen to be the Gothic "O" for 1701. A truly first rate spoon. There is a pair to this spoon also offered - see central photo below.