Spoon

Unknown

1487 · Silver · The Cloisters

Numerous inventories refer to spoons "slipped on the stalk," that is, spoons the stems or handles of which were simply terminated at right-angles. A great number of spoons of this type have survived and their popularity may well be explained by the simple and consequently less expensive decoration of the handles. This example is considered by some scholars to be the earliest extant example of an English slip-top spoon. On the back of the handle at the top appear the crowned leopard’s head, the London hallmark for the years 1485 to 1488, the date letter for the 1487, and an illegible maker’s mark.

Artist

Unknown

Date

1487

Medium

Silver

Culture

British

Department

The Cloisters

Credit line

The Cloisters Collection, 1955