Identifying spoons

Knops, rat-tails, and marks — the spoon is one of the best-dated object types.

Spoon evolution is well charted. Medieval and Tudor spoons have fig-shaped bowls and hexagonal stems ending in a knop — acorn, seal-top, apostle figure. The late 17th century flattens the stem into a trefid end and runs a 'rat-tail' rib down the bowl's back; the 18th–19th centuries bring the familiar oval bowl and rounded terminal.

Material matters: silver spoons carry hallmarks (date-letter dating to the year); pewter and latten (brass) spoons often have touchmarks or imitate silver forms slightly later. A broken-off knop or a bowl fragment with a rat-tail is still identifiable.

Check the stem end and the bowl-back first, then hunt for marks inside the bowl and on the stem. Record length, bowl shape, and marks verbatim — a spoon with a legible touchmark can often be traced to a named maker.

From the guide library inside Collectors Catalogues, a free app for cataloguing antiques and finds with honest, museum-grade records.

More on metalwork

Identifying harness and horse fittings — Pendants, mounts, and buckles.

Identifying weights — Standardised mass, marked.

Identifying keys and locks — Bit, bow, and stem.

Identifying pins and needles — Head form and point.

Identifying mounts and fittings — Rivets, solder, and back.

Identifying buckles — The commonest metal-detecting find after coins — and surprisingly datable.

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