Knife
late 17th century to early 18th century (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
A scrivener was a professional penman or scribe who transcribed court records and copied documents. Scriveners used knives such as this to cut and shape goose feathers into writing quills. Most knives had a spike on the end of the handle for splitting the nib. The word penknife comes from this use.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Steel with agate and silver mounts |
| Brief description | Scrivener's knife with a handle of agate, ferrules and spike of silver, North Western Europe, late 17th or early 18th century |
| Physical description | Scrivener's knife with a polygonal handle of smoke brown agate with black markings, ferrules and blunt spike of silver. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | Mark (Dutch import mark on the mount) |
| Credit line | Given by J. H. Fitzhenry |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | A scrivener was a professional penman or scribe who transcribed court records and copied documents. Scriveners used knives such as this to cut and shape goose feathers into writing quills. Most knives had a spike on the end of the handle for splitting the nib. The word penknife comes from this use. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 1052-1902 |
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| Record created | March 23, 2005 |
| Record URL |
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