Silver Puritan Spoon, 1663 by Jeremy Johnson

This is a good, heavy silver puritan spoon dating from the early years of the Restoration.

Made by Steven Venables who was one of the major spoonmakers of the mid-17th century, this Charles II period spoon has the expected tapering, flat plank-like stem that typifies puritan spoons. The end of the handle on the reverse side is engraved with original "EL" initials.

The spoon has a great set of London hallmarks with the leopard's head crown to the bowl, maker's mark to the lower part of the handle and the lion passant "F" (in Gothic script) date letter half-way along the handle (spread out as to be expected for puritan spoons).

The spoon has a good, heavy weight and is in excellent condition with a thick rim to most of the bowl - the leading left-hand edge has thinned a little but there is now overall loss of shape to the bowl.