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Apostle Spoon Set (13) - Papal States
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Reference: S1292
Period: George III
Year: Circa 1803
Silversmith: unmarked
Place: Papal States
Price: $ 800.00
Weight: 290 grams
Dimensions: large spoon 18.0cm, smaller 12.5cm
Condition: Excellent. The Apostle finials are all perfect. The coins that make up the bowls are also generally in good condition, with pictures and script clearly visible - however 4 of the coins have had holes repaired. The large coin has a split (see photo).
Description: A magnificent set of 13 gilded silver Italian apostle spoons, featuring the 12 apostles on the smaller spoons and the "Master" on the larger spoon - all in their original box. They are extremely good quality and well made, the cast finials have very fine detail. The stems are twisted with a beaded design, and a winged female angel joins the bowls to the stems. Each apostle is named on the back of the finial in Italian - (S. Pilip, Giag, Paol, Luca, Mat, Bart, Piet, And, Tom, Mar, Giov, Sim). The spoon bowls are all made of silver coins (Piastra's) from the Papal States (which included most of central Italy in the 18th century) dated between 1676 and 1802. The coins have the Papal Arms for the following Popes: Innocento XI (1676-1689), Alessandro XIII (1689-1691), Innocento XII (1691-1700), Clement XI (1700-1721), Clement XII (1730-1740), Clement XIV (1769-1774), Pius VI (1775-1799) and Pius VII (1800-1823). Two of the coins, dated 1691, are "Sede Vacante" - translated "The Seat is Empty", meaning they were minted between the death of one Pope and the election of his successor. Innocent XI, Clement XI and Clement XII are represented twice. The coin with Alessandro XIII has the Pope's bust, engraved by Hameranus. We assume these spoons would have been purchased as a souvenir of the "Grand Tour" to Italy in the early 19th century.
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Apostle spoons set - Papal States
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Apostle spoons set - front
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Apostle spoons set - back
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Finial detail 1
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Finial detail 2
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Back of finial showing names
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Original box and scale
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Comparison large and small spoon
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Front of bowls
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Detail 1
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Back of bowls
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Detail 2
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