Description:
Silver apostle spoon with a finial of St. Jude carrying the emblem of a long cross, and a pear-shaped bowl and tapered hexagonal stem, which has the touchmark "TP" in a shaped surround or shield, the hallmarks of date letter and lion passant, and engraved "1640 / T.P. / R.G." on the back of the bowl. Jackson's notes this mark is found on a seal-top spoon and three apostle spoons from 1639-1642. The Clark Institute also has a St. Jude apostle spoon dated 1640-1641 with the same mark, which was possibly presented on the occasion of a marriage since it has two sets of initials and a date on the back of the bowl. 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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