• Apostle spoon

  M.242-1940 (Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A))

  

  Object Type This silver spoon bears the figure of the Apostle St Peter. Many spoons of this type were made by West Country spoonmakers. Apostle spoons were highly popular from about the 1450s, when they appear in a range of standard designs available from specialist spoonmakers. Ownership & Use The popularity of spoons - the least expensive means of possessing or giving silver - is indicative of the spread of silver to a broader society during Tudor times. A single spoon was an acceptable gift up to the 17th century, when the custom fell out of favour except at christenings; by that time spoons were no longer the main eating tool. Apostle spoons were commonly given as baptismal presents. According to Edward Howes, writing in 1631, it was a Tudor innovation for godfathers and godmothers to give plate 'as spoons, cups and such like' to the child. Subjects Depicted The choice of Apostle seems not to be connected to the name of the baptised, but more likely to that of a local saint. St Peter, to whom Exeter Cathedral in Devon is dedicated, frequently graces West Country Apostle spoons of the period, such as this one. In other cases, however, the Apostle is unidentified, with no particular emblem or attribution.

  • Place made: Exeter, England (possibly)
  • Creator: Powning, Henry, born active ca. 1634-1650 (possibly)
  • Date made: ca. 1638
  • Material: Parcel-gilt silver

• Communion cup and paten cover

  4636-1858 (Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A))

  

  Object Type A cup and paten, or plate, are used for holding the consecrated wine and bread in the Christian celebration of Holy Communion in Protestant Churches. Holy Communion is the service that re-enacts the sharing of bread and wine at the Last Supper of Christ. The footed paten can be turned upside down to act as a cover to the cup. History & Design After Henry VIII's break with the Church of Rome in 1534 and the establishment of the Church of England, liturgical silver developed new forms to signal the move away from Roman Catholic traditions. The communion cup now resembled large domestic cups to clearly demonstrate, on a symbolic and practical level, that the consecrated wine was for the congregation as well as for the priest. Instructions for the change in design came from the Archbishop of Canterbury, and were relayed to local goldsmiths by the Goldsmiths' Company. This cup was re-fashioned in Exeter from an earlier communion cup. Ornament As sacred imagery was considered 'superstitious' in the Church of England, other forms of ornament were introduced. In this example the scrolling foliage engraved within cross-hatched strapwork is characteristic of the Renaissance ornament that had recently been introduced into England from Continental Europe.

  • Place made: Exeter, England
  • Creator: Jones, John, born active 1550s - died 1590s
  • Date made: 1571-1574
  • Material: Engraved silver, with gilded interiors

• Virginal

  813-1873 (Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A))

  

  Object Type A virginal works on the same principal as a harpsichord and spinet. It is played with keys, which activate quills that pluck the strings, and has a range of 51 notes. Subjects Depicted The soundboard is decorated with flowers and birds based on designs in the Florilegium by the Flemish engraver Adrian Collaert (around 1550-1618). The insides of the lids are decorated with the story of Adam and Eve, as well as hunting, maritime and pastoral scenes. Materials & Making The soundboard is made of spruce, the bridge of walnut, and the lid and case of oak. The naturals (the paler keys) are covered with boxwood, their edges with embossed paper, and the sharps and flats (the darker keys) with stained hardwood. The decoration was painted in gouache, an opaque watercolour. Time During the Commonwealth music was banned from churches but it still flourished in private houses and even at the court. Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector from 1653 to 1658, employed a certain John Hingston as his Master of Music for £100 a year. He is also known to have entertained distinguished foreign visitors with music during meals. People John Loosemore was the leading organ builder of Exeter, Devon. Although the city had suffered greatly during the Civil War of 1642-1646, Loosemore was able to make his living during the Commonwealth. He produced virginals and other keyboard instruments for the more prosperous citizens. Prices would probably have started at about £5, the sum the diarist Samuel Pepys paid for a spinet in 1668.

  • Place made: Exeter, England
  • Creator: Loosemore, John, born ca. 1613 - died 1681
  • Date made: 1655
  • Material: Oak case, enclosing virginal of spruce, walnut, boxwood, ebonised oak, gilded paper, iron and mirror glass; decoration painted in gouache

• Writing table

  W.4:1 to 23-1956 (Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A))

  

  Object Type Back-to-back writing tables became fashionable during the reign (1727-1760) of George II. Together they formed a large centre-table for a library. The elaborate profile and mounts indicate that these tables were also a fashion statement. As such they could be used separately in bedrooms or dressing rooms for storing personal belongings as well as writing equipment. Design & Designing This table has a long well-fitted desk drawer with a writing slide which pulls forward on corner-truss supports. This concept was developed by Thomas Chippendale in 1760 and published in the third edition of The Gentleman and Cabinet Maker's Director (1762) as plate 82. The elaborate curved front of the table is also close to a 1761 design for a cabinet published by Chippendale in 1762 as plate 122. Place A description of 'Two Library tables ... of the most elegant construction and exquisitie workmanship' sold at Fonthill Splendens in 1801 has been linked with the V&A table and its pair, which was sold at auction in New York in 2000. The huge Palladian mansion of Fonthill Splendens in Wiltshire was built for Alderman William Beckford (1709-1770), father of the wealthy collector William Beckford (1760-1844). The elder Beckford was also known for his extravagant taste, and is likely to have expressly commissioned such elaborate furniture as this writing table. (The younger Beckford was later to sell off some of Fonthill Splendens's contents - apparently including this table - prior to demolishing the house in 1807 and replacing it with the neo-Gothic Fonthill 'Abbey'.)

  • Place made: Exeter, England
  • Creator: Unknown
  • Date made: ca.1750-ca.1755
  • Material: Mahogany and padouk, inlaid with brass; gilt-bronze mounts