A Bow Knife and Fork, circa 1754-58

This Bow knife and fork are painted in underglaze blue with hatched foliage, stylised strapwork and lambrequins. Much utilised by Saint-Cloud earlier in the century, this style of decoration is loosely derived on the broderie ornaments of the designer Jean Berain (1640-1711) and his followers. The knife has a curved steel blade, and the fork has two tines on a steel baluster stem. Silver ferrules.

Provenance: An English Private Collection.

Condition: No damage or restoration, just some light kiln speckling on the knife haft. The fork haft has fired a slightly darker blue. There is a tiny split to the silver ferrule on the fork. The steel fittings are good and sharp.

Dimensions: Length of knife 26 cm (including blade); Length of fork 19.5 cm (including tines)

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

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

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

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