Description:
Silver apostle spoon with a finial of St. Bartholemew carrying the emblem of a flaying knife with which he was martyred, and a pear-shaped bowl and tapered hexagonal stem, which has the touchmark of a crescent enclosing "W" for William Cawdell of London, and a lion passant, and leopard's head. Working from 1582-1625, specialist spoonmaker William Cawdell has been described by one scholar as the major trade supplier of his day; his mark is found on numerous spoons dating from the late 16th and early 17th centuries. On more than one occasion he was suspended from assay by the wardens of the Goldsmiths' Company for producing substandard wares. Nevertheless, he was admitted to the Livery of the Company in 1603, and elebated to rank of Warden in 1621. The Clark Insititute also has a St. Bartholemew apostle spoon dated 1604/05 by Cawdell, which also has initials. According to Beth Wees: "Apostle spoons first appeared around the mid-1400s and continued to be made in quantity well into the seventeenth century. While conforming in basic design to other early English spoons, they are distinguished by their small cast finials fashioned as one of the twelve apostles or the Master. Individual apotles are differentiated by the emblem each carried in one hand, balanced by the Holy Book he holds in the other. In most cases the book is cast as one with the figure, while the emblem and nimbus are cast separately and attached with a solder. A single apostle spoon became a customary gift, ideally presented to an appropriately named child. Produced by specialist spoonmakers who also made such standard spoons as slip- and seal-top, apostle spoons were easily personalized by the choice of saint and by the addition of pricked or engraved initials and/or dates. The apostle finials were often supplied by another specialist, who cast the basic figures from a limited range of molds, and then individualized them by varyiing the applied emblems.
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