Oyster ladle, coffin end - Robt. Shepherd, Albany,c1805

Shepherd is probably better recognized for his long-term partnership with William Boyd. They began working together in 1810. This is an earlier piece, in the classic coffin-end pattern, with a straight tapering handle -- a graceful ladle, 8-1/8" long with a 2-3/8" oval bowl. It has an incised pointed arch drop on the back of the bowl, and the mono, in feathered script, is G A L. Condition is excellent.