A Charles I silver Aphrodite Transitional Buddha spoon

A Charles I silver Aphrodite Transitional Buddha spoon,

by John Shinner, Plymouth, circa 1639,

fig-shaped bowl, faceted tapering stem, with a finial of the bust of a female figure with arms folded, with traces of gilding, the reverse of the bowl prick-dot initialled '1639' over NH' over 'IA',

length 17cm, approx. weight 1.6oz.

Provenance:

The David Constable Collection.

J.H. Bourdon-Smith Ltd.

Illustrated and written up in Constable, D., The Silver Spoons of Britain,1200-1710, Volume one, Constables Publishing, 2016, pages 364-367, entry number 63.

The maker's mark is over-striking another, possibly that of Richard Chandler who was renowned for this type of spoon.

the small style of this spoon (currently only three are known) is a transitional design from Aphrodite to Buddha. Although there are some casting differences, it would appear that they are by the same hand. In the National Museum of Wales there is a fourth, in the Jackson collection, however it has a worn finial mounted on a fully marked London spoon, probably originally a Seal-top. Possibly a client brought the spoon to Shinner and wanted the finial changed.

Another example can be seen in The Alexander Collection of Early English Silver Spoons, 9 February 1979, lot no.45.