2-950-990 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

'Ampulla and Spoon', 1962. Used during coronations, '...intimately connected with the most solemn part of the whole ceremony, when the holy oil, poured from the beak of the golden eagle into the coronation spoon, is applied by the officiating bishop or archbishop to the new sovereign's head, breast and palms'. The pieces (second half 12th century) are part of the Royal Collection at the Tower of London. From "The Crown Jewels in the Tower of London", by Martin Holmes, F.S.A.. [Her Majesty's Stationery, London, 1962]