Stock No. 2143	William and Mary silver trefid spoon
Excellent William and Mary sterling silver trefid spoon worthy of any collection. The back of the bowl has a double ribbed rat-tail, enclosing a line of beading. The flat stem widens at the end and divides into three sections by two incisions. These three sections gave this type of spoon the name of "trefid". The back of the end of the stem is engraved with a family crest of a cock holding three corn sheaves in his right claws. Maker :- William Swadling

Condition :-A good gauge of silver. The line of beading inside the rat-tail on the back of the bowl is flattened at the tip due to its age. The hallmarks are superlative and could not be better.
Hallmarked :- London 1694		.
Size :- 7.8 inches (19.8cm) long
Weight :- 1.6ozt (51.8g)
The trefid is the earliest spoon of modern form. The first English trefid was recorded in 1662 but these spoons did not become common until the 1670s and were no longer made soon after 1700. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, silver spoons were customarily given at christenings and weddings and, to a lesser degree, funerals. They were very often the only silver spoons in the house. The maker of this trefid spoon, William Swadling, was an apprentice of Lawrence Coles who was one of the major spoonmakers of his time.

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