North Country seal top spoon, £4500 at Anderson & Garland, with Willam Barehead marking.
It had a maker’s mark of WB conjoined for William Barehead of Durham to the stem and was dated to c.1610, making it one of the earliest-known pieces of north-east silver.
North Country seal top spoon, £4500 at Anderson & Garland, with detail of Willam Barehead marking.
This added greatly to its attraction when it came up for sale in Newcastle upon Tyne.
A prolonged bidding battle pushed the final price to £4500, a multiple of the £600-800 guide at the March 19 sale.
