spoon, unidentified, 1707-1708

The curved shape of the finial on this form of spoon has led modern collectors to refer to it as a ‘dog-nose’ or ‘wavy-ended’ shape. The three distinct sections of the finial which characterise the ‘trefid end’ spoon have merged, and this type of spoon can be considered a transitional form between the ‘trefid end’ and the Hanoverian pattern of the 1710s onwards. The marked central ridge also recalls the narrower ridge that runs down the centre of many Hanoverian pattern spoons. The finial of the spoon was designed after the French fashion, so that the spoon could be placed on the table with its open bowl down (the opposite of how it would be placed on the table today). This is why the initials of the original owners are engraved on what we would now think of as the back of the spoon. The three initials engraved on this example are almost certainly those of a husband and his wife. The top initial is the man's family name; the two letters below are the initials of the first name of the husband and wife.

This spoon is also an early example of plate made to the higher standard of silver that became compulsory for the trade between 1696 and 1720. In 1696 an act of Parliament raised the standard of wrought plate from 925 parts of pure silver (known as ‘sterling standard’) to 958 parts of pure silver per thousand. This was an attempt to stop people removing silver coins of sterling standard from circulation and converting them into cups, dishes and other items of plate. The higher standard for plate was reflected in new marks: the mark of the lion passant (the sterling standard mark) was replaced by the figure of Britannia, and in London the mark of the London assay office (a leopard’s head crowned) was replaced by a lion’s head erased. After 1720, goldsmiths and their patrons could choose either sterling or Britannia standards for their wares.

silver, dog nose pattern with rat-tail pattern, significant wear to the edge of the bowl, the finial appears to have been damaged by teeth marks.