Spoon (C 3482)

Spoon (C 3482) is held by Badisches Landesmuseum Karlsruhe (Germany). Description supplied by the holding institution: One of the oldest Christian grave goods from the territory east of the Rhine is a silver spoon from Sasbach in the district of Emmendingen dating to the 6th century. The Germanic peoples adopted the custom of depositing spoons as grave goods from their Roman neighbours, who already practised it in the 2nd century. A Christogram, a vine leaf, and the name "Andreas" are engraved into the Sasbach spoon, possibly referring to the apostle of the same name. Perhaps such spoons were used during the celebration of the Eucharist, or perhaps in the context of Christian burial ceremonials. On the other hand, in the private sphere they formed part of the tableware of the wealthy upper class and served here also as status symbols. The collection record gives measurements length: 23.7 cm, width: 3.2 cm, depth: 2.0 cm. Published through Europeana; how far this object represents a wider collectible type has not yet been independently verified.