Late Byzantine Silver Spoon with 'St Peter' Inscription on the Handle

LATE 6TH-8TH CENTURY A.D.

8 1/2 in. (60.77 grams, 21.5 cm).

Featuring a large, shallow piriform bowl, stepped junction with a boar's head above, a hexagonal-section stem extending from behind the boar's neck bearing a Greek inscription 'TTETPOY' (of Peter); a balustered handle with a cuboid, striated finial.

Provenance

Acquired on the UK art market.
Private collection, Surrey, UK.

Literature

Cf. Shelton, K.J., The Esquiline Treasure, London, 1981, item 27, for type; Wamser, L., Die Welt von Byzanz - Europas Östliches Erbe, München, 2004, item 909.

Footnotes

The inscription suggests that the spoon may have had a liturgical purpose, associated with the Holy Communion. Still today in the Orthodox Church, the Body and Blood of Christ are dispensed with similar liturgical objects. The name Peter can be associated with the church, or simply with the owner of the liturgical artefact.

CONDITION

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LOT 0194