A Chelsea Knife, circa 1750
This large white knife of pistol-grip form, is moulded with entwined flowering branches. The steel blade is stamped GR beneath a crown, and the unidentified cutler’s marks IEE(?) / RIS. Silver ferrule.
Provenance: An English Private Collection.
Condition: No damage or restoration. There is a tiny impurity in the paste/glaze at the end of the haft, from manufacture. The scimitar blade has some age-related tarnishing, but remains sharp.
Dimensions: Length 27.9 cm (including blade)
A Review of Chelsea, Chelsea-Derby and Derby Knife and Fork Hafts, Tony Stevenson (ECC Transactions, vol. 14, no. 1, 1990).
Cutlery: From Gothic to Art Deco – The J. Hollander Collection, Jan van Trigt (Petraco-Pandora NV, 1999).
Ref. In his Review of Chelsea, Chelsea-Derby and Derby Knife and Fork Hafts, Tony Stevenson mentions an unglazed handle waster of this form found at the Longton Hall factory site, and now at the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent.