This is an example of a type of spoon described as a 'trefid' pattern, so-called after the way the end of the stem is split into three sections. The design is completely different to that of earlier spoons made in England, and is almost certainly inspired by contemporary examples from the Continent, particularly France. Goldsmiths' Company court minutes from the 1660s refer to 'French fashion spoons', which probably looked similar to this one. This new fashion meant the finial of the spoon was designed so that the spoon cpuld 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 stamped decoration on the finial and bowl is achieved by hammering the spoon into a die in which the decoration has been cut. Spoons of this form decorated in this way are known as 'lace back' trefids, and they are perhaps the commonest type of decorated trefid. Lawrence Coles, whose mark appears on this spoon, specialised in spoon-making and was occasionally fined by the Goldsmiths' Company for bringing spoons and forks to assay that were below the required standard of purity.