LONDON, 1607, MAKER'S MARK A TREFOIL SLIPPED, IN SHAPED CARTOUCHE

A similar dish is illustrated in P. Glanville, Silver in Tudor and Early Stuart England, a Social History and Catalogue of the National Collection 1480-1660, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1990, p. 448, no. 75-76. Two further dishes, one of 1617, from Buckland Filleigh Church, Devon, and another from Witham Church, Essex, were exhibited London, Christie's, Silver Treasures from English Churches, 1955, nos. 90 and 92. The form of these dishes is possibly derived from Portugese silver. Their use is uncertain, although is has been suggested that they were used for dessert. Dating from 1607, this dish would appear to be the earliest recorded example.