The Munro apostle spoons: Saint Matthias

Each of these spoons (66.1.1-66.1.13) displays a small figure of an apostle, one of the twelve disciples Christ chose to preach his Gospel to the world. In an era when many children died in infancy, newborns were frequently named for one of the apostles—who became the child's patron saint and protector—and sets of such spoons were popular baptismal presents to godchildren. The group is one of very few sets of such an early date that survive intact.