A Bow Knife and Fork, circa 1755

Of large pistol grip 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. The hafts are well painted and there is only a little blurring in places, from manufacture. There is a tiny kiln touch to the knife haft, which occurred during manufacture and subsequently glazed. The steel fittings are good and sharp.

Dimensions: Length of knife 28 cm (including blade); Length of fork 21.7 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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