Slide #13
of 16

     Spoons did not have to have a finial. The slip top spoon was popular throughout this period. Its name derives from the description in early inventories as "slipped In the stalk", i.e. cut across the stem. These two examples are:

• Daniel Carey, London, 1615, 6.3 inches
• Edward Hole, London, 1631, 4.7 inches

The smaller spoon was presumably either a child's spoon or an early equivalent of the dessert spoon.

On slip tops the date letter was moved to the top of the stem to prevent the fraudulent addition of a finial after the spoon had been assayed.