Moulded leather knife case, Italian, early 16th century

Case and cover for scribal instruments of moulded and embossed leather. The upper and broader part is decorated in front with a winged monster, and a lion rampant; on either side of this are wreaths and below, bands of floral scrollwork and gadroons, ending a wavy, tail-like piece. At the back is a similar band of floral scrollwork; the ground is punched, and there are six loops for a cord (missing).

Bought £7. 18s. 1d. from Signor Döllinger, Prima Exposizione Internazionale d'Arte Decorativa Moderna, (sezione Inglese), Turin (RP 86662/1902)
Condition: 'Worn, chipped and slightly cracked'; attribution 'Italian, early 16th century'; 'from Como' [in accession notes]
Assigned to Woodwork Dept.

The high value of personal possessions encouraged the use of protective cases of all shapes and sizes. These were moulded and stitched in leather, and were close-fitting and light-weight. They are exceptionally durable, and have often outlasted the contents, such as quill pens, ink wells, books, cutlery, and other personal possessions. Such cases are sometimes depicted in 15th-century paintings and manuscript illuminations. Integral loops allowed the lids to be secured with a cord or thong, by which smaller cases could be carried on a belt for convenience. They could be intricately decorated with fashionable ornament, personalised inscriptions and colour.

Knife Cases
Cases for knives, in a variety of shapes and sizes, are one of the most common types of surviving medieval moulded leatherwork made from the 14th to the 16th centuries. They range from larger (and often elaborately decorated) cases designed for sets of carving or eating knifes for use at table), to smaller cases easily carried on the owner’s belt, and designed for a single, multi-purpose knife – useful when eating or writing - or a knife and spoon. Cases could be decorated and might include an inscription or motto, or the owner’s initials. Medieval illustrations of leather pen cases (to contain a knife and at least one quil) in use by scribes or members of the nobilit) tend to show them attached by cords to an ink horn in its own moulded leather case. The combination could have been easily carried, either worn at the waist or - in the case of scribes - worn around the neck as a badge of office.

Leather knife cases (V&A, FWK collection)
7404-1860
7760-1863
7761-1863
7762-1863
7764-1863
8386-1863
606-1864
501-1868
101-1891
102-1891
104-1891
105-1891
571-1893
647-1897
656-1902
1525-1903
W.101-1910
W.108-1910
W.170-1910
W.14-1946

Further reading:
Writing implements and accessories : from the Roman stylus to the typewriter, Irene Whalley, 1975, pp. 187-8
Western writing implements in the age of the quill pen, Michael Finlay, 1935, pp.35-6, p.138
The Secular Spirit (Exhibition catalogue, New York, Metropolitan Museum 1975), p.81
P.K.Thornton, The Italian Renaissance Interior 1400-1600 (London 1991), fig.256 (showing a leather pen case suspended from its cord)

656-1902