Knife thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Medieval & Renaissance, Room 62, The Foyle Foundation Gallery

Knife

1586 (dated)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This knife has a handle of chiselled iron, partly gilded, and decorated with mother-of-pearl scales. The blade inlaid with a copper 'V' denoting the cutler.

This knife was originally, probably part of a set of knives in a leather case. Owning fine cutlery in the 16th century was an outward sign of wealth, elegance and refinement. Mother-of-pearl was an exotic and expensive material.

It was normal practice for everyone to carry their own cutlery, especially a knife. Cutlery remained individual and personalised. The knife was the main eating implement in Europe until the middle of the 17th century. The basic form of the table knife, a single-edged blade more or less pointed, with a handle, has remained virtually the same since Antiquity, although the details of construction, shape and decoration have varied.

The survival rate also suggests that knives were not subjected to hard, repeated use. Although this knife is sharply pointed to enable it both to cut and skewer meat, fingers were used for much of the meal.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Steel with copper inlay and gilt chiselled iron with mother-of-pearl scales
Brief description
Knife with straight-backed steel blade, a cutler's mark 'V' inlaid with copper, and handle of chiselled iron, partly gilded, and with mother-of-pearl scales, France, dated 1586
Physical description
Knife with straight-backed steel blade tapering at to a sharp point, with a cutler's mark 'V' inlaid with copper, and handle of chiselled iron, partly gilded, and with mother-of-pearl scales.
Dimensions
  • Length: 19.6cm
  • Width: 1.5cm
  • Depth: 1.3cm
Measured for the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries
Marks and inscriptions
'V' inlaid with copper (Cutler's mark: unidentified)
Credit line
Salting Bequest
Object history
This knife came to the Museum in the Salting Bequest of 1910 (No. 1271), a major bequest including Chinese and Japanese ceramics and metalwork and European art. George Salting was born in Australia in 1836 where his father was a wealthy sugar producer. He was a very careful collector and was known to haggle endlessly over prices. By 1874, he began lending items to the V&A, then known as the South Kensington Museum, when his collection became too large for his residence in St James’ Street. Salting died in 1909 and his collection was displayed the following year in its own gallery in the Museum.

Prior to Salting's ownership the knife had also been in the collection of Baron Frederic Spitzer (1815-1890). Spitzer was an antiquarian and dealer in Paris, originally from Vienna, whose collection was sold in 1893. This knife fetched 340 francs.

The provenance of the knife prior to Spitzer's ownership is not known.
Historical context
This knife was originally, probably part of a set of knives in a leather case. Owning fine cutlery in the 16th century was an outward sign of wealth, elegance and refinement. Mother-of-pearl was an exotic and expensive material.

It was normal practice for everyone to carry their own cutlery, especially a knife. Cutlery remained individual and personalised. The knife was the main eating implement in Europe until the middle of the 17th century. The basic form of the table knife, a single-edged blade more or less pointed, with a handle, has remained virtually the same since Antiquity, although the details of construction, shape and decoration have varied.

The survival rate also suggests that knives were not subjected to hard, repeated use. Although this knife is sharply pointed to enable it both to cut and skewer meat, fingers were used for much of the meal.
Summary
This knife has a handle of chiselled iron, partly gilded, and decorated with mother-of-pearl scales. The blade inlaid with a copper 'V' denoting the cutler.

This knife was originally, probably part of a set of knives in a leather case. Owning fine cutlery in the 16th century was an outward sign of wealth, elegance and refinement. Mother-of-pearl was an exotic and expensive material.

It was normal practice for everyone to carry their own cutlery, especially a knife. Cutlery remained individual and personalised. The knife was the main eating implement in Europe until the middle of the 17th century. The basic form of the table knife, a single-edged blade more or less pointed, with a handle, has remained virtually the same since Antiquity, although the details of construction, shape and decoration have varied.

The survival rate also suggests that knives were not subjected to hard, repeated use. Although this knife is sharply pointed to enable it both to cut and skewer meat, fingers were used for much of the meal.
Bibliographic references
  • Masterpieces of Cutlery and the Art of Eating, An Exhibition organised by the Victoria and Albert Museum in conjunction with the Worshipful Company of Cutlers of London, London 1979
  • Coffin, Sarah D. et al, Feeding Desire: Design and the Tools of the Table 1500-2005, Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, Assouline, New York 2006
  • Catalogue Des Objets D'Art et de Haute Curiositie, Antiques, Du Moyen Age & de La Renaissance, Collection Spitzer, Paris, Monday 17 April to Wednesday 16 June 1893, Plate LV, Lot No. 2425
  • Trigt, Jan Van, Cutlery, From Gothic to Art Deco, Pandora, Antwerp, 2003
Collection
Accession number
M.604-1910

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Record createdMarch 24, 2005
Record URL
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