Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Metalware, Room 116, The Belinda Gentle Gallery

Cutlery Set

ca. 1580 - ca. 1600 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This ivory knife case contains 12 knives and one fork. Knife cases such as this were designed to be portable. A black substance has been rubbed into the engraving to emphasise the outlines. Ivory was prized during the 16th century for its beauty and rarity.

Ebony, ivory, fish skin, tortoiseshell, amber, bone, horn and shell were all popular for decorating cutlery. Around 1730 ceramic handles were introduced to Europe from China. Although cutlers were required by their guilds to be able to make a complete knife, handles of carved ivory, silver, bronze and glass were usually imported or made by specialist craftsmen.
Knives have been used since prehistoric times, but the history of knives, forks and spoons for eating in Europe probably commenced in the fourteenth century, and their use became accepted by the sixteenth century. Until the late seventeenth century it seems to have been common practice for people to carry their own cutlery, often in a leather case.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 14 parts.

  • Knifecase
  • Knife (Culinary Tool)
  • Knife (Culinary Tool)
  • Knife (Culinary Tool)
  • Knife (Culinary Tool)
  • Knife (Culinary Tool)
  • Knife (Culinary Tool)
  • Knife (Culinary Tool)
  • Knife (Culinary Tool)
  • Knife (Culinary Tool)
  • Knife (Culinary Tool)
  • Knife (Culinary Tool)
  • Knife (Culinary Tool)
  • Fork
Materials and techniques
Engraved steel and ivory and leather
Brief description
Cutlery set, ivory, steel and leather, twelve knives and one fork in ivory case, Germany (Nuremberg), ca. 1580-1600
Physical description
Ivory cutlery case containing 12 knives and one fork. The case and handles are engraved with full-length figures of emperors and knights and a frieze of hunting subjects. The engraving is filled in with a black substance. The handle of the fork is engraved with a female nude.
Dimensions
  • Of case length: 22.4cm
  • Of knives (whole) length: 19.5cm
  • Of knives (ivory alone) length: 6.9cm
  • Of fork (whole) length: 23.5cm
  • Of fork (ivory alone) length: 4.5cm
Gallery label
SET OF KNIVES AND ONE FORK Handles and case of ivory, engraved in the style of Virgil Solis of Nuremberg (b.1514; d.1562) German; 16th century
Object history
Blair noted that the designs derive from the engravings of the Nuremberg artist Virgil Solis (Blair 1974, p. 362). Bought from the Bernal Collection, Christies's, London on 21 March 1855, lot 1679.
Subject depicted
Summary
This ivory knife case contains 12 knives and one fork. Knife cases such as this were designed to be portable. A black substance has been rubbed into the engraving to emphasise the outlines. Ivory was prized during the 16th century for its beauty and rarity.

Ebony, ivory, fish skin, tortoiseshell, amber, bone, horn and shell were all popular for decorating cutlery. Around 1730 ceramic handles were introduced to Europe from China. Although cutlers were required by their guilds to be able to make a complete knife, handles of carved ivory, silver, bronze and glass were usually imported or made by specialist craftsmen.
Knives have been used since prehistoric times, but the history of knives, forks and spoons for eating in Europe probably commenced in the fourteenth century, and their use became accepted by the sixteenth century. Until the late seventeenth century it seems to have been common practice for people to carry their own cutlery, often in a leather case.
Bibliographic references
  • Inventory of Art Objects Acquired in the Year 1855. In: Inventory of the Objects in the Art Division of the Museum at South Kensington, Arranged According to the Dates of their Acquisition. Vol I. London: Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., 1868, p. 67
  • Blair, Claude (ed.), Arms, Armour and Base-Metalwork. The James A. de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor, Fribourg, 1974 p. 362
  • Trusted, Marjorie, Baroque & Later Ivories, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 2013 p. 417
  • Trusted, Marjorie, Baroque & Later Ivories, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 2013, p. 417, cat. no. 421
Collection
Accession number
2165 to M-1855

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Record createdFebruary 4, 2005
Record URL
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