Spoon
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A silver spoon was an intimate treasured possession that its owner would carry much of the time.This spoon is punched with the leopard's head mark, representing the English sterling standard, or quality, of silver. Many late medieval spoons have finials in the form of saints or sometimes in the form of animals.The wildman finial figure on this spoon is however the only example of its kind. The spoon displays the common late medieval and Renaissance feature of a fig shaped bowl and a slender six sided stem. The wildman or "wodewose" was a popular figure in the medieval period, included in romance stories and love imagery, and in religious and moral tales. He also appeared in a heraldic context, holding up shields with coats of arms. From the 14th century the wildman was particularly associated with desire and lust. The appearance of the wildman upon this spoon may have been a playful symbol of desire, or perhaps it served as a reminder of the wildness within human nature.
Physical description
Silver with a fig shaped bowl and slender six-sided stem terminating in a moulded capital which forms a pedestal for the figure of a wodewose (wildman).
Place of Origin
England
Date
15th century (made)
Artist/maker
Unknown
Materials and Techniques
Silver
Marks and inscriptions
"Leopard's Head" Town mark: London or possibly Coggeshall, Essex
Dimensions
Height: 20.4 cm
Width: 5.1 cm
Depth: 2.3 cm
Weight: 0.06 kg
Measured for the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries
Object history note
Purchase - £400 along with M66 - 71
H D Ellis, 7 Roland Gardens, SW7
Acquisition RF: 21 / 1199
Possibly made at Coggleshall, Essex in 1468 (see Glanville ed,silver, p.23)
This spoon, which is the only one of its kind to survive, may have been owned by any member of society from artisan to noble. Spoons survive in larger numbers than any other object from before c.1700. Silversmiths made and sold silver spoons in every market town. Although silver was an expensive commodity, it was not as rare or as costly as gold. A wide variety of people could afford items of silver. A silver spoon weighing 1.5 to 2oz was a luxury costing an artisan around a week's wages. Nevertheless such items were the personal and treasured possessions of yeomen, workmen, widows and small shopkeepers. Wealthier members of society might own several silver spoons. In 1517 it is recorded that the Earl of Berkeley owned 20 dozen spoons.
Historical context note
Spoons in the medieval period were intimate possessions that were often carried on the person. They were commonly presented as christening gifts but were also passed on in wills. In the Renaissance spoons of silver were offered as lottery prizes and required at election to corporations.
The fingers, the knife and the spoon were the principal aids for eating in this period, At a banquet, spoons might be used so that the guests could dip into a communal dish. Whilst spoons of wood or horn were commonly used in the Middle Ages, medieval inventory records show that silver spoons were also used to dine with. However, spoons may also have been given as personal gifts.
Descriptive line
Silver spoon, British, 15th century with wildman knop.
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Jackson, C J., History of English Plate, fig 612 (incorrectly described)
Incorrectly described as an apostle spoon depicting St James the Less with a Fuller's bat.
Materials
Silver
Categories
Metalwork; Eating
Collection code
MET
