A Roman silver cochlearium spoon with With 'swan-neck' junction; facetted, round-section tapering shank; shallow bowl shaped like a flask in profile.
NB. Not supplied with stand.
 
Circa 2nd-4th century AD.
 
Very Fine condition.
Length 17.4 cms (6.8 ins)
 
Provenance: Property of a Bedfordshire, UK, private collector.
 
Literature: Cf. Riha, E., & Stern, W.B., Die Römischen Löffel aus Augst und Kaiseraugst, Forschungen, in Augst 5, 1982, for discussion; cf. Jackson, C.J., The Spoon and its History, in Archaeologia, vol.53.
 
The spoon's shaft tapers to a point, and was used for extracting seafood or snails from their shells. Spoons executed in precious metals were highly valued items in this period in history, so much so that historians and classicists see them recorded in inventories compiled for noble households. Cochlearia like this one have even been discovered in treasure hoards. The absence of Christian symbolism or of a Christian inscription on this spoon might suggest that it dates from a pre-Christian era, or that its owner/commissioner was pagan.