Elaborate Gold Spoon

This elaborately decorated spoon is one of the most beautiful artifacts from the Atocha. Intricate gold spoons like this one were often reserved for ceremonial purposes, such as dispensing holy water and consecrated wine or to distribute commodities of great value like sugar or salt. Decorative heads similar to this spoon have been found on silver ewers (pitchers) from the Atocha. The stem portion of the spoon is very short. It was not until the end of the 16th century that the spoon stem was lengthened to allow ease of use with the new fashionable ruffled collar.