Roman Silver Folding 'Travel' Spoon

CIRCA 4TH CENTURY A.D.

4 3/8 in. (28 grams, 11.2 cm long).

A short silver spoon with shallow piriform bowl, raised neck with movable pinned hinge attached to the hexagonal-section handle and shortened polyhedral knob finial, allowing the handle to be folded into the bowl. [No Reserve]

Provenance

Early 1990s London collection.
Acquired on the UK art market.
From a private collection, Lancashire, UK.

Literature

Cf. Shelton, K.J., The Esquiline Treasure, London, 1981, item 27, for type.

Footnotes

As today, the spoon was used as a measure for dosage in ancient times. Both the cochlear and the ligula could have been used to measure different quantities, particularly in the practice of medicine and in the kitchen. Isidore (Origines, XVI, 26.3) tells us that the cochlear was the smallest unit size and was worth half a drachma.

CONDITION

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LOT 0774