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spoon
Object Type
spoon
Museum number
1946,1007.18
Description
Silver spoon bowl, hemispherical in profile with a flat base. The bowl has a slightly collared rim; at the base of the inside of the bowl, the central lathe mark is visible, around which are incised concentric circles. Belongs with handle 1946,1007.25.
Cultures/periods
Romano-British
Production date
4thC
Findspot
Found/Acquired:
West Row
Materials
silver
Technique
incised
Dimensions
Diameter:
57.50 millimetres
(rim diameter)
Height:
23.60 millimetres
Weight:
40.73 grammes
Volume:
38 millilitres
$Inscriptions
Curator's comments
Silver ladles from the Mildenhall treasure Roman Britain, 4th century AD Found in Mildenhall, Suffolk Deep, round-bowled spoons or ladles like this have been found in many late-Roman silver hoards. The decorative dolphin handles of these examples are gilded and originally had inlays, probably of glass, in their eyes. They resemble some of the dolphins depicted in the Hoxne treasure. The solder which originally attached the handles to the bowls has decayed during the time spent buried in the ground; it is now difficult to tell which handle belongs to which bowl.
Bibliographic references
Painter 1977a / The Mildenhall Treasure: Roman Silver from East Anglia
Hobbs 2008 / The secret history of the Mildenhall treasure
Roman Britain 1964 / Guide to the Antiquities of Roman Britain
(p. 40)
Hobbs & Jackson 2010 / Roman Britain Life at the Edge of Empire
(p. 150, fig. 121)
Hobbs 2016 / The Mildenhall Treasure: Late Roman Silver Plate from East Anglia
(p.1, pl.1, p.4, p.5, pl.8, p.7, p.10, p.11, pl.15, pl.17, p.12, pl.18, p.15, p.16, p.17, table.2, p.209-219, p.209-212, p.210, pl.362, p.215, table.15, p.217, p.218, pl.371, p.219, pl.374, p.220, p.237, p.238, pl.401, p.239, p.241, p.243, p.244, p.266, table.28, p.267, pl.407, p.271, p.279, table.31, p.297, p.298)
(cat.16. See also 1946,1007.25)
Location
On display
(G49/dc22)
Acquisition name
Treasure Trove:
HM Treasury
From:
Sydney Ford
From:
Gordon Butcher
Acquisition date
1946
Acquisition notes
Found while ploughing, 1942
Department
Britain, Europe and Prehistory
Registration number
1946,1007.18
Conservation
Treatment
: 30 Jun 1997
Treatment
: 14 Nov 1995
Treatment
: 07 Sep 1993
Treatment
: 17 Jan 1992
Treatment
: 04 Feb 1980
Treatment
: 13 Apr 2007
Treatment
: 13 Nov 2003