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Maidenhead Type Spoon

probably late 15th century
Not on view
Maidenhead spoons seem to have made their appearance in the late fourteenth century. That some were indented to represent the Virgin Mary is revealed in an inventory of Durham Priory, in 1446, in which "ij coclearia argentea at deaurata unius sectae, cum ymaginibus Beatae Mariae in fine eorundem" ("two partially gilded silver spoons with the image of the Holy Mary at their ends"), and again in a much later of 1525 in which spoons "knopped with the image of our Lady" are mentioned. In the present example, the Virgin, dressed in the fashion of the first half of the fifteenth century, wears an elaborate rolled headdress and a dress with a V-shaped neckline and a raised collar.

These two spoons, although both probably of provincial workmanship since they bear no clearly identifiable London silver mark, are good examples of two of the most popular types of spoons in the late fourteenth centuries. The other most common types were the diamond point, the seal top, and the slip-top.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Maidenhead Type Spoon
  • Date: probably late 15th century
  • Culture: British
  • Medium: Silver
  • Dimensions: Overall: 6 1/8 in. (15.6 cm)
  • Classification: Metalwork-Silver
  • Credit Line: The Cloisters Collection, 1955
  • Object Number: 55.42.9
  • Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters

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