Fork
ca. 1700-1725 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The factory at Saint-Cloud (outside Paris) began making porcelain in the 1690s. It was granted a succession of royal privileges and flourished under the patronage of the king's brother, the duc d'Orleans. Early productions were frequently copied from silverware and are characterised by a creamy white body, often with delicate blue painting. The factory also developed a range of enamel colours and produced some particularly accomplished figures.
By the end of the 17th century forks had become an indispensable part of dining equipment and were used with knives in the modern way. Blades and tines were added to porcelain handles outside the factories by specialist workers in metal.
By the end of the 17th century forks had become an indispensable part of dining equipment and were used with knives in the modern way. Blades and tines were added to porcelain handles outside the factories by specialist workers in metal.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Soft-paste porcelain handle painted in underglaze blue, with silver ferrule and steel tines |
| Brief description | Fork, porcelain pistol shaped handle painted in underglaze blue, with silver ferrule and two steel tines, Saint-Cloud porcelain factory, France, ca. 1700-1725 |
| Physical description | Fork with pistol-shaped handle and two tines. |
| Credit line | Given by J. H. Fitzhenry |
| Summary | The factory at Saint-Cloud (outside Paris) began making porcelain in the 1690s. It was granted a succession of royal privileges and flourished under the patronage of the king's brother, the duc d'Orleans. Early productions were frequently copied from silverware and are characterised by a creamy white body, often with delicate blue painting. The factory also developed a range of enamel colours and produced some particularly accomplished figures. By the end of the 17th century forks had become an indispensable part of dining equipment and were used with knives in the modern way. Blades and tines were added to porcelain handles outside the factories by specialist workers in metal. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 1611A/2-1871 |
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| Record created | June 18, 2004 |
| Record URL |
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