The same gentleman also showed me a set of Apostle-spoons, which,
although objects of curiosity, had, in conformity with the prevailing
fashion, undergone the alteration of the silversmith. There were twelve
of them, each of which represented an Apostle, boldly carved on the
handle; a large round hat is placed on each of their heads, which was
probably to save the features from being injured. They are standing on
the stem of the spoon, which is carved somewhat like a Doric pillar. The
bowls are very large and deep, and are rather awkwardly turned in at the
sides. A complete set, in good condition, is very rare and valuable; and
it is to be regretted that so many of these relics have fallen into the
silversmith's furnace, merely for the sake of their silver.

Apostle-spoons were presented by sponsors or visiters at christenings
and at marriages; and those who could not afford a complete set, gave
one or two, as their circumstances might permit. Some presented a spoon
with the figure of the saint after whom the child was baptized, or to
whom it was dedicated. In his "Bartholomew Fair," Ben Jonson has a
character to say, "And all this for a couple of apostle-spoons and a
cup to eat caudle in." Likewise in the "Noble Gentleman," by Beaumont
and Fletcher,

"I'll be a gossip, Bewford--
I have an odd apostle-spoon."


In "The Gossips," a poem, by Shipman, in 1666, there is the following
mention of the custom of presenting apostle-spoons at christenings,
which it appears was then on the decline:--