Not currently on display at the V&A

Knife

ca. 1700 - ca. 1720 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Europe (made)

This is a an ivory knife (part of an ensemble of knife, fork and spoon) made in Germany in about 1700-1720. The cutler's mark is a sceptre-like device (the maker has not been identified). On acquisition these three items were said to be in a case, but this seems no longer to exist.


Object details

Categories
Arms & Armour
Metalwork
Tools & Equipment
Accessories
Object type
Knife
Materials and techniques
Steel with ivory and silver gilt
Ivory
Steel
Silver
Gold
Forging
Amalgam Gilding
Carving
Brief description
Knife, ivory handle with silver gilt finial and ferrule with a cutler's mark, Northern Europe (probably German), ca. 1700-1720
Physical description
Knife with an ivory handle carved with grapes and vine leaves, and silver gilt finial and ferrule with a cutler's mark: a sceptre-like device.
Dimensions
  • Whole length: 17.5cm
  • Ivory alone length: 5cm
Marks and inscriptions
a sceptre-like device (Cutler's mark)
Object history
Bought in 1858 (vendor unrecorded). All three objects (knife, fork and spoon) where bought as set.
Subjects depicted
Grapes
Vine-Leaves
Summary
This is a an ivory knife (part of an ensemble of knife, fork and spoon) made in Germany in about 1700-1720. The cutler's mark is a sceptre-like device (the maker has not been identified). On acquisition these three items were said to be in a case, but this seems no longer to exist.
Associated objects
Bibliographic references
  • Inventory of Art Objects Acquired in the Year 1858. In: Inventory of the Objects in the Art Division of the Museum at South Kensington, Arranged According to the Dates of their Acquisition. Vol I. London: Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., 1868, p. 15
  • Longhurst, Margaret H. Catalogue of Carvings in Ivory. Part II. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1929 p. 94
  • Trusted, Marjorie, Baroque & Later Ivories, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 2013 p. 424
  • Longhurst, Margaret H. Catalogue of Carvings in Ivory. Part II. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1929, p. 94
  • Trusted, Marjorie, Baroque & Later Ivories, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 2013, p. 424, cat. no. 438
Collection
Metalwork Collection
Accession number
4862-1858

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Record createdMarch 1, 2005
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O109740/knife-unknown/
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