A Bow Knife and Fork, circa 1755

Of large pistol grip form and painted in a bright underglaze blue with hatched foliage, stylised strapwork and lambrequins. The upper parts are decorated with bell flowers suspended from a cell-pattern border beside the silver ferrules. Fitted with a steel two-pronged fork on a baluster stem, and a scimitar blade.

The decoration, with its Renaissance-inspired lambrequin designs loosely derived from the broderie ornaments of the designer Jean Berain (1640-1711) and his followers, is very much in the manner of early Saint-Cloud porcelain.

Provenance: An English Private Collection.

Condition: No damage or restoration, just some light wear to the glaze on the fork haft from use, and some kiln dust from manufacture. One or two tiny dimples on the fork ferrule. The steel fittings are good and sharp.

Dimensions: Length of knife 27.7 cm (including blade); Length of fork 22.2 cm (including tines)

A Review of Bow and Worcester Knife and Fork Hafts, Tony Stevenson (ECC Transactions, vol. 13, no. 3, 1989).

Bow Porcelain: The Collection formed by Geoffrey Freeman, A. Gabszewicz & G. Freeman (Lund Humphries, 1982).

Cutlery: From Gothic to Art Deco – The J. Hollander Collection, Jan van Trigt (Petraco-Pandora NV, 1999).

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