Spoon

Accession Number1986.008.0162

VesselNuestra Señora de Atocha (1622)

Datecirca 1620

DescriptionA 13.5-centimeter-long silver spoon recovered from the wreck of the 1622 galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha. The Atocha had traveled to the ports of “Tierra Firme” - Cartagena, Colombia and Portobelo, Panama. Large cargoes of silver were taken on board at both ports, but especially so in Portobelo. Many passengers coming from Peru boarded the ship there. Peru was the leading source of silver mining and production at that time, and many of these people were shipping silver objects, including utensils. This relatively humble spoon was almost certainly part of a person’s personal shipment of goods.