A Saint-Cloud Knife and Fork, circa 1700-20
The early cannon-shaped hafts are attractively painted in underglaze blue with Renaissance-inspired lambrequin designs loosely derived from the broderie ornaments of the designer Jean Berain (1640-1711) and his followers. The ends of the hafts are painted with a stylised flower head. The fork has three silver tines on a baluster stem, and an octagonal silver ferrule. The knife has a steel blade, and a silver ferrule and cap. The blade and ferrule are both marked.
Provenance: An English Private Collection.
Condition: The patterns and shades of blue on both hafts are different. There is some glaze wear to the fork haft, probably from where the cutler shaved the porcelain when fitting the silver. There is some light kiln dust from manufacture, and the cap is lacking. The knife haft has two short hairlines close to the ferrule, and early glaze pinholes from manufacture. There is a split to the silver ferrule. No other damage and no restoration.
Dimensions: Knife length 26 cm (including blade); Fork length 20 cm (including tines)
Discovering the Secrets of Soft-Paste Porcelain at the Saint-Cloud Manufactory, c.1690-1766, Bertrand Rondot, Ed. (BGC / Yale, 1999).
French Porcelain: A Catalogue of the British Museum Collection, Aileen Dawson (British Museum Press, 2000).
Cutlery: From Gothic to Art Deco – The J. Hollander Collection, Jan van Trigt (Petraco-Pandora NV, 1999).