| DESCRIPTION |
Superb William III solid Britannia standard silver gilt Trefid spoon with a long ribbed rat tail to the almost round bowl. The prick dot initials are the originals and most likely to
commemorate the marriage of a Mr. I M to a Miss E. For no reason that I can justify I feel that the F * M engraving is by the same hand but
slightly later so could be for the first two children. The crest engraving is later 18th century. Where the gilding has been disturbed/removed there is a distinctive edge that points to mercurial gilding that leaves a
much thicker coating of gold than later electro gilding. Banned now in most of the world, in 1697 mercurial gilding would have been the method employed. All engravings cut through the gilding so I come to the astonishing conclusion
that this is the original gilded surface. |
| SILVERSMITH |
William Mathew I (c/w Grimwade no: 1976) |
| DATE or HALLMARK |
1697, mark faint but the distinctive notch to the top of the punch used at London from 29th May 1697 to March 1698 can be seen above about 70% of the date letter 'B'. I have included
below one image of the marks from another 1697 London Trefid spoon for comparison only. That spoon belongs to a friend and is NOT included with the one that I am selling here. |
| ASSAY OFFICE |
London |
| WEIGHT in GRAMS |
61 |
| LENGTH |
7", 180mm |
| SILVER STANDARD |
·9584 Britannia standard silver |
| CONDITION |
excellent, some marks a bit lightly struck, a little rubbing to the gilding that appears to have come from handling only. Absolutely no wear to the silver so this spoon has simply been cherished, never
used, and is probably the finest example available to mankind today. |
