Apostle Spoons
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A set of thirteen spoons, usually silver, the handles of which are adorned with representations of Our Lord (the Master spoon) and the twelve Apostles. Anciently they were given by sponsors as baptismal gifts to their godchildren, the wealthy giving complete sets, others a smaller number, and a poor person a single spoon. The Apostles are distinguished one from the other by their respective emblems:
- St. Peter with a key, sometimes a fish;
- St. Andrew with a saltire cross;
- St. James Major with a pilgrim's staff and gourd;
- St. John with a chalice ;
- St. Philip with a long staff surmounted with a cross;
- St. James Minor with a fuller's bat;
- St. Thomas with a spear;
- St. Bartholomew with a butcher's knife;
- St. Matthew with a wallet, sometimes an axe;
- St. Matthias with a halbert;
- St. Thaddeus, or Jude, with a carpenter's square;
- St. Simon with a saw.
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