An Elizabeth I sterling silver apostle spoon, London 1589 by ‘a crescent enclosing a pierced mullet’ probably for Thomas Benbowe (free 1586/87)

Fig shaped bowl with a hexagonal section stem, cast apostle terminal possibly St Philip with the three loves of bread, with a holy dove nimbus. The reverse of bowl with mid-17^th century prick dot engraved with initials WT over AT and the date above 1663. Traces of gilding to the finial. Fully marked and with town mark to bowl, maker’s mark a crescent enclosing a pierced mullet.

Length – 18.2 cm / 7.15 inches

Weight – 58 grams / 1.86 ozt

The famous spoon maker’s mark of a crescent enclosing a mullet has initially been identified for Nicholas Bartholomew (active circa 1545 to 1588). Thomas Benbowe was apprenticed to Bartholomew on the 16^th January 1578/79, free circa 1585/6, he was his twelfth and last apprentice. This mark, differenced to that of his master by the piercing of the mullet is found on at least 26 spoons between 1589-96. Alternatively Patrick Brue (d.1612/13) was apprenticed to Nicholas Bartholmew and bound himself six apprentices between 1575-1605 (William Cawdell, John Lovejoy, John Round, Stephen Blanke, Daniel Carey and Richard Mather). These workshops were located at the Woolsack, Cheapside.

Literature:

Piers Percival, "Elizabethan London Specialist Spoonmakers", in The Finial: Journal of the Silver Society of Great Britain, v. 14/06, Jul/Aug 2004, pp. 14-21; also "Woolsack Postscript", in The Finial: Journal of the Silver Society of Great Britain, v. 15/01, Sep/Oct 2004, pp. 4-5; and "John Round - Third Apprentice of Patrick Brue", in in The Finial: Journal of the Silver Society of Great Britain, v. 15/06, Jul/Aug 2005, pp. 8-10
Timothy Arthur Kent, London Silver Spoonmakers, 1500-1697 (London: Silver Society, 1981), pp. 4,7,8,12.