Very Antique Elizabethan Seal Top Spoon, 1563

If you want an Elizabeth I period silver spoon that looks its age and yet is in otherwise good condition with clear hallmarks - then this is for you!

This spoon has almost certainly been buried for a good period of time, most likely to safeguard it against pillage during times of trouble (e.g. the Civil War) and for whatever reason was not later retrieved by its owner. The entire surface is covered with pitting and it certainly looks close on 500-years old!

This seal top has a typical squat finial for the mid-16th century with a nicely decorated central knop. The spoon's other attributes are also representative of the period - the seal finial sits on the end of a tapering hexagonal stem and the deep bowl is the expected fig-shape. Pitting aside, the spoon is in very good order with a good, unworn bowl (there is a small dent) and original rim still intact. The reverse side of the bowl is engraved with a curious symbol (perhaps relating to a religious sect or secret society?).

The bowl is marked with the leopard's head crowned representing London, whilst the three stamps to the back of the stem are: crescent enclosing a mullet (maker's mark), lion passant (for Sterling silver) and date letter "f" for 1563. The crescent enclosing a mullet mark has been identified as belonging to Nicholas Bartholomew, a prominent spoonmaker working in London between 1545 and 1588 (See Tim Kent "London Silver Spoonmakers 1500-1697" page 12).