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Lot Essay
In order to further tighten the laws surrounding the hallmarking of precious metals a system was devised and instituted in 1477 by which a new mark was entered each year to help determine who the assay master was when a particular object was tested. As the system used the letters of alphabet in a separate punch they became known as date letters. The present spoon is the earliest one in the Benson collection which has a date letter and indeed Commander and Mrs How were convinced, based on the style of leopard's head, that the present spoon was hallmarked for the year 1478, the very first year that the new mark appeared. This is impossible to corroborate however as the mark is obscured by a repair.
The leopard's head mark which led to the conclusion that this spoon bears the earliest date letter is a version between the 'Arctic' leopard's head, as used from circa 1475-1477, the last in the How's series of pre-date letter marks, and the mark which is recorded on at least four items dating from 1479-81. It is distinct from the earlier mark in that it is lacking the circle of pellets but in a circular shield unlike the later mark.
While Commander and Mrs How remained convinced that their conclusion was correct they did suggest that readers '... must study the enlarged photographs on page 28 and form their own conclusions' (How, op. cit., vol. III, p. 28).
DIAMOND POINT SPOONS
Diamond point spoons, so called for the facetted shape of their finial, which How suggests (op. cit. vol. I, p. 161) is based on the prick or goad spur which was common in the 13th century, were first made at the end of the 13th century, eventually replacing the acorn as the most common form. The earliest example with full London marks is believed to date from 1493 but examples are known with several versions of the early Leopard head mark. A set of 'ii dozen and vi spoyns with dyamond poyntes' are recorded in the will of a Richard Morton of 1487 and cited by Timothy Kent in his introduction to The Benson Collection of Early Silver Spoons, p. 3.
The leopard's head mark which led to the conclusion that this spoon bears the earliest date letter is a version between the 'Arctic' leopard's head, as used from circa 1475-1477, the last in the How's series of pre-date letter marks, and the mark which is recorded on at least four items dating from 1479-81. It is distinct from the earlier mark in that it is lacking the circle of pellets but in a circular shield unlike the later mark.
While Commander and Mrs How remained convinced that their conclusion was correct they did suggest that readers '... must study the enlarged photographs on page 28 and form their own conclusions' (How, op. cit., vol. III, p. 28).
DIAMOND POINT SPOONS
Diamond point spoons, so called for the facetted shape of their finial, which How suggests (op. cit. vol. I, p. 161) is based on the prick or goad spur which was common in the 13th century, were first made at the end of the 13th century, eventually replacing the acorn as the most common form. The earliest example with full London marks is believed to date from 1493 but examples are known with several versions of the early Leopard head mark. A set of 'ii dozen and vi spoyns with dyamond poyntes' are recorded in the will of a Richard Morton of 1487 and cited by Timothy Kent in his introduction to The Benson Collection of Early Silver Spoons, p. 3.