Although made in London, this mid-eighteenth century spoon is French in style. The form of the finial, referred to as a 'fiddle pattern' and the marked drop at the back of the spoon where the stem meets the bowl are characteristic of French flatware and were still unusual in England in the 1740s. The maker's mark is probably that of John Barbe, a London goldsmith who registered his first mark as a maker of large objects (a 'largeworker') at the Goldsmiths' Hall in 1735. Barbe was an immigrant French Huguenot, and was still active as a plateworker in 1773. When the spoon was presented to the V&A it was thought to be from the workshop of 'J. Barbitt'. 'Barbitt' has now been correctly identified as Joseph Barbut, recorded as a goldsmith of large objects (a 'largeworker') in October 1703, and still active in 1739. Although Barbut's surviving pieces suggest he was a specialist spoon and forkmaker, and he would have been active when this spoon was made, his mark does not resemble the one on this spoon.