Funeral spoon, Rudolf Wittkopf, Stockholm, 1704
The Lohe hoard includes many items of cutlery, including twenty spoons, six teaspoons and the preserved handles of eleven knives and eleven forks. The spoons you see here are the two most magnificent of them and are made of gilded silver. They were made in Stockholm in 1704.
The shorter of the two spoons was made by the goldsmith Anders Malthow (who was active from 1703 to 1730), while the longer one was made by the goldsmith Rudolf Wittkopf (who was active from 1687 to 1722). The spoons are funeral spoons made for the funeral of Johan Lohes (1643–1704) on 19 January 1704. On the underside is the inscription JOHAN LO HE obiit d. 19 JANV 1704.
In high-status environments, funeral spoons were often given as tokens of honour to people who performed services during the funeral, such as pallbearers and the priest.
