RAMM saves Gilbert Spoon

A rare example of Elizabethan craftsmanship has been saved by the Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM).

RAMM was able to save a The Gilbert Spoon made in Exeter between 1580-90 with help from the art fund and the V&A Purchase Grant Fund.

The spoon made from silver by John Edes has been judged unique for it’s quality, design and historical significance.

From  26 October the Gilbert Spoon will feature in RAMM’s Tudor age: West Country to World’s End exhibition which offers a snapshot into lives of Tudor era Devonians.

The Gilbert Spoon was probably made as one of a set for Sir John Gilbert, Sheriff of Devon and on his death in 1596 passed to Adrian Gilbert, his surviving brother. The inscribed date and initials probably therefore commemorate Adrian’s inheritance.

Adrian Gilbert (c.1541-1628) was an agent to his half-brother, Walter Raleigh, and was instrumental along with Grenville, Drake and Raleigh in establishing the first British colony in the New World at Roanoke Island, Virginia.

The Gilberts owned two principal properties in Devon – Greenway Manor on the Dart estuary and ComptonCastle near Paignton which is still inhabited by their descendants. Both are now administered by the National Trust.

The Gilbert spoon is currently on display as part of the RAMM’s making history exhibit.