apostle spoon

…The practice of having knives, forks, and spoons ready for each person on the table became common in the 19th century. Many spoons were decorated, and in England between the 15th and 17th centuries, apostles spoons, with the images of the twelve apostles carved into the handles, were given to a newborn baby by his or her godfather as a gift for the baby's baptism. In connection with the custom of carving names on personal spoons, apostles were also considered symbols of life and health, and even today they are often given as gifts for baptisms and weddings. …

*Some of the terminology explanations that mention "apostle spoon" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…ナイフ，フォーク，スプーンを食卓上に人数分だけ用意する様式は19世紀に入って一般化した。　スプーンには装飾をほどこしたものが多く，15～17世紀のイギリスでは，柄の先に十二使徒の像を彫った12本の〈使徒スプーンapostle spoon〉を，生まれた子どもの洗礼祝いとして名付け親が贈った。個人用のスプーンに名を彫った風習とも関係して，生命，健康の象徴とも考えられ，現在でも洗礼や結婚の祝い物とされることが多い。…

※「apostle spoon」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報