G'Day from Down Under,
I am trying to locate any information of the origin of a boxed "set" of six Apostle spoons and a pair of sugar tongs. Unfortunately they are not silver, but, looking at the price of an original silver set, I would not have been able to afford them in this life-time anyway!!!!
I now know that not only are are a poor knock-off of the original Apostle spoons but I have also found, while taking the pictures for this forum, that they are simply a collection of single spoons in a box as there are differing marks on each item. One spoon holds a staff (St James the Greater) while the rest all hold a wallet which is apparently St Matthew according to the information I have found on-line, the tongs hold what I think is a fish.
Not only that but the one with the staff (#4) has the Apostle facing the wrong way on the spoon so it is most definitely a fake!!!!
The markings and items they are holding are as follows in order of presentation in the box.
Spoon 1: Nickel Silver Sheffield England; the wallet.
Spoon 2: No markings; the wallet.
Spoon 3: EPN with only a slight impression of the corner of the last letter stamp; the wallet.
Tongs: EPNS on the inside of the handle; the fish? (Not too sure there, please see photo).
Spoon 4: EPNS in the bowl; The Apostle is facing the wrong way and has the staff? (see photo).
Spoon 5: No marks; the wallet.
Spoon 6: EPNS in the bowl; the wallet.
I did learn, from Wikipedia, that the original silver spoons, of which should be a complete set of 13, are Jesus and the 12 Apostles and each Saint carries one of the following: a cross or orb, a sword, a cross, fish, Pilgrim's staff and gourd, a cup of sorrow or chalice, butcher's knife, spar, an axe or halbert (?), a fuller's bat (?), a wallet, carpenter's set square, long saw or a bag of money.
The handle of each of every spoon has the Apostle at the tip, a little filigree work then a column and a similar filigree work at the base. The back of each spoon is exactly the same except for spoon 1 which has the mark "Nickel Silver Sheffield England" written along the column, would this spoon be from a separate collection due to it's differing detail? Unfortunately there are no other markings to assist in further identification.
At least I know that one spoon is made in Sheffield which narrows the search a little as it gives me a place to begin but Sheffield was well-known for its silver-work so I figured there must have been quite a few silver-smiths over the years, all I have to do is find out which one did Apostle sets and when so that I might be able to locate a matching set.
Is anyone able to identify any of these pieces or advise me of a web-site where I might find information leading to their origin? Also, I do not know the difference between "nickel silver” and plated silver, perhaps some-one could explain this in lay terms???
I would like to use my bad experience to warn other shoppers and amateur collectors to double check their purchases before buying an item. If it looks too good to be true, it is usually for a good reason!!!
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Many thanks for your time and effort in assisting me with this problem.
Kindly,
Michelle Kahler.
Queensland, Australia.