The Bishop Foxe Crozier Silver Apostle Spoon, 1611
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Spoon - Full-length Apostle; St. James the Greater - London 1611 by William Cawdell - 19.4cm long; 72g - BJ/6666
This is an extremely rare version of an apostle spoon with a full-length model of St. James the Greater to the finial.
Apostle figures are generally cut off at the base of their robes but this example includes the lower legs too. Very few of this type exist but there is precedent with the pair of "Thomas Apostle Spoons" that are described and illustrated in "English & Scottish Silver Spoons" by GEP How on pages 62 – 65 plates 8 & 9 and considered by the author to be the "finest examples of English apostle spoons still in existence today" - and this spoon is a match to them! Please see final two images for a comparison.
How suggests that the full length apostle is from the same casting as the figures on the Bishop Foxe silver crosier (or crozier) from circa 1490-1500 that belongs to Corpus Christi College and currently resides in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. As the figure on this spoon is identical to that on the crosier and the Thomas spoons, it is likely that Cawdell used the same casting mould.
Please click this link for further details about the Bishop Foxe silver crosier: https://www.cabinet.ox.ac.uk/pre-civil-war-college-plate#/media=247
In addition to rarity, the quality of this James I period apostle spoon is superb too with it having both a very hefty weight and expertly modelled features to the figure. St James the Greater is identified by his pilgrim's staff which is a little crooked! As with the Thomas spoons, the saint is wearing a cap rather than a nimbus.
The condition is excellent with a good bowl rim, nice patina and distinct features to the cast apostle. Made by the master spoonmaker William Cawdell, the London hallmarks are very good, although there is some wear to the bowl mark.
William Cawdell was the pre-eminent spoonmaker of the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He was apprenticed to Patrick Brue in 1576 and was an important link in the master/apprenticeship dynasty of London spoonmakers.His output was prolific and the quality of his spoons were the best of the late Tudor and early Stuart periods. His distinctive style of maker's mark ("W" within a "C") was later copied by his apprentices (James Cluatt, Martin Cottrell and John Jermyn) that succeeded him.
This is an important apostle spoon with a direct link to one of the greatest pieces of medieval silver.
