Card of the Day: The Ampulla and Spoon

As we continue our look at the Coronation Jewels and Regalia via the 1935 Churchman Cigarette Card series for the Silver Jubilee of King George V and Queen Mary, let’s take a glance at two objects that we rarely get to see: The Ampulla and the Spoon.


The Ampulla was made around 1661 and is in the form of a golden eagle, some 8 inches high with a wingspan of 7.75 inches. This vessel holds the holy oil which is used to anoint the Sovereign during the Coronation Ceremony. In short, it’s a fancy gold spewer. The oil pours forth from the beak (there is a tiny hole in the bird’s throat to allow the flow of oil). The oil is poured into the spoon which we’ll examine in a moment.

Some historians believe that the eagle’s head is older than the body. This has been conjectured because the screw thread which attaches the head to the body seems to be of Fourteenth Century rather than Seventeenth Century design. There was another Ampulla, but Oliver Cromwell disposed of that one during the Commonwealth period. He caused a lot of trouble.

From the Web site of the English Monarchs

Now, to the spoon. The spoon is the oldest piece in the regalia, dating to the late Twelfth or early Thirteenth century. The spoon has been re-gilt twice throughout its existence, and four small pearls were added to the stem for the Coronation of Charles II in 1661. These, somehow were lost, and were replaced in 1689. The spoon is used to anoint the monarch’s head, palms and breast.

In 1649, when Cromwell was selling off the King's goods, Clement Kynnersley, a Yeoman of the Removing Wardrobe to Charles I, bought this spoon for 16 shillings, and upon the Restoration in 1660, he took up the same post with Charles II, triumphantly returning this object to the King. Today, both the Ampulla and the Spoon are on display at the Jewel House at the Tower of London.