One inscribed "William Walter borne ye 20 novr 1647", the other "Gabril Walter borne ye 15 decr 1649". The seal-top finials with prick-dot initials 'W' over 'GM' and 'W' over 'GD'.

English traditions surrounding silver spoons in the Renaissance and early modern period are poorly documented and rather inscrutable. This intriguing pair is engraved on their stems with the names and birth dates of two brothers, born two years apart in 1647 and 1649. On the spoons' "seal" finials are prick-engraved initials: GMW and GDW. The date of manufacture for both is 1659.

There is a tradition of spoons being given as christening gifts (c.f. Henry VIII, Act 5, Scene 2), though not all silver spoons were acquired that way. This pair was made when the brothers were around ten and twelve years old. We don't have enough information to say why, or what the occasion might have been...though of course we have our theories!

A further mystery concerns the prick-engraved initials, GMW and GDW. It's possible that these are the boys' first, middle, and last initials, with the G standing for Guillaume in place of William. It's also possible, as suggested by Lord Robin Butler in his book on the Albert Collection, that the boys were half-brothers by the same father, and that the initials are for their respective parents.

Provenance:
The Albert Collection
J H Walter, sold at Christies 1 July 1954, Lot 60.

Literature:
Butler, R., "The Albert Collection", Broadway Publishing, 2004, page 177, entry number 166.