Gilded silver spoons from the Hoxne hoard
Roman Britain, buried in the 5th century AD
Found at Hoxne, Suffolk (1992)
A matching set of spoons
The Hoxne (pronounced 'Hoxon') hoard is the richest find of
treasure from Roman Britain. Alongside the approximately 15,000
coins were many other precious objects, buried for safety at a time
when Britain was passing out of Roman control.
The most obvious matching set of tableware consists of nineteen
spoons with gilded decoration. All are in very good condition.
Eleven are long-handled spoons (cochlearia), six are the
larger cigni with bird-head handles, and two are large
transverse perforated spoons with handles in the form of
dolphins.
The decoration is on a marine theme, with a sea-god, dolphins
and mythological sea-creatures. This is a familiar aspect of
Bacchic iconography, though many of the motifs also occur in
Christian contexts.
C.M. Johns and R. Bland, 'The Hoxne late Roman treasure', Britannia, 25 (1994), pp. 165-73
R. Bland and C.M. Johns, The Hoxne Treasure, an illustr (London, The British Museum Press, 1993)