Case for spoons or knives, or liturgical instruments thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Case for spoons or knives, or liturgical instruments

Case
ca. 1650 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This case for a spoon or knife, was made in ca. 1650 in Italy. This case is formed of two pieces of bone and engraved St Francis of Assisi and a female martyr saint holding a palm. Beneath is a monastic saint holding a cross. On the other side St Agatha is shown in a cartouche, above another cartouche with the Franciscan emblem of two arms and a cross above a pierced heart. Given its imagery, this holder may have been made for a Franciscan community. The holder may have had a liturgical function. The style and form suggest they are Italian, and date from the mid-seventeenth century.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Case
  • Bag of Fragments
TitleCase for spoons or knives, or liturgical instruments (named collection)
Materials and techniques
Engraved ivory and bone on wood core
Brief description
Case, bone and ivory on wood core, for a spoon or knife or liturgical instruments, Italian, ca. 1650
Physical description
Case for a spoon or knife, formed of two pieces of bone. In a cartouche is St Francis of Assisi and a female martyr saint holding a palm are depicted. Beneath is a monastic saint holding a cross. On the other side St Agatha is shown in a cartouche, above another cartouche with the Franciscan emblem of two arms and a cross above a pierced heart. Beneath the figure of St Agatha is an inscription. The conical base has panels engraved with foliage and floral design, and four profile busts in fanciful costumes. The sides of the case are pierced with holes for the attachment of a thong. Decorative pierced borders of bone run round the circumference of the base and in two further borders around the holders above. The engraving has been filled up with a black mastic or ink. Two of the panels in the base are of ivory while the others are of bone.

Dimensions
  • Height: 32.3cm
  • Of base diameter: 14.5cm
Marks and inscriptions
'S. AGATHA' (beneath the figure of Agatha)
Object history
Given by Sir Charles Wyndham Murray, K.C.B., 10 Rutland Gate, London, SW7 in 1922.
Subjects depicted
Summary
This case for a spoon or knife, was made in ca. 1650 in Italy. This case is formed of two pieces of bone and engraved St Francis of Assisi and a female martyr saint holding a palm. Beneath is a monastic saint holding a cross. On the other side St Agatha is shown in a cartouche, above another cartouche with the Franciscan emblem of two arms and a cross above a pierced heart. Given its imagery, this holder may have been made for a Franciscan community. The holder may have had a liturgical function. The style and form suggest they are Italian, and date from the mid-seventeenth century.
Associated object
A.19-1922 (Version)
Bibliographic references
  • Longhurst, Margaret H. Catalogue of Carvings in Ivory. London: Published under the Authority of the Board of Education, 1927-1929, Part II, p. 107
  • Trusted, Marjorie, Baroque & Later Ivories, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 2013, cat. no. 298, p. 304
Collection
Accession number
A.18:0-1922

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
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