Plain Pine
Knife
1936 (made)
1936 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This dessert knife is part of a service initially designed for the tourist-class (second class) dining room of the Queen Mary, the transatlantic Cunard liner. The dining room itself was panelled in pine and this service was called the Plain Pine range. It proved so popular that it was re-used for the Queen Mary’s sister ship, the Queen Elizabeth.
Walter Patrick Belk (1872-1963), who designed it, was one of the directors of Roberts & Belk, a well-known firm of manufacturing platers and silversmiths established in Sheffield in 1810.
Traditionally the firm had a ‘high class’ goods range – ‘every piece designed by the firm’s own staff’. Belk, originally an architect, was immensely supportive of the Goldsmiths’ Company’s schemes to improve design in silver and he was elected to the Livery of the Company in 1929.
Walter Patrick Belk (1872-1963), who designed it, was one of the directors of Roberts & Belk, a well-known firm of manufacturing platers and silversmiths established in Sheffield in 1810.
Traditionally the firm had a ‘high class’ goods range – ‘every piece designed by the firm’s own staff’. Belk, originally an architect, was immensely supportive of the Goldsmiths’ Company’s schemes to improve design in silver and he was elected to the Livery of the Company in 1929.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Plain Pine (manufacturer's title) |
| Materials and techniques | Electroplate, with stainless steel blade |
| Brief description | Table knife, part of a cutlery service, `Plain Pine', electroplate with a stainless steel blade, Sheffield, made by Roberts and Belk, 1936, designed by Wlater Patrick Belk. |
| Physical description | Table knife, part of a cutlery service, `Plain Pine', the blade of stainless steel, the leading edge straight, rounded tip, and a curved cutting edge, the haft of electroplated nickel silver, chamfered edges and stamped with a fleche pattern. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Production type | Mass produced |
| Marks and inscriptions | Marks: ROMNEY PLATE, Rd 798068 and the blade stamped ROBERTS & BELK LTD / FURNIVAL WORKS / SHEFFIELD / RUSTLESS (Registered Design Number: Rd. 798068.) |
| Object history | Acquisition RF: 37/3090 From Roberts and Belk From a set of six. Walter Patrick Belk was an architect, designer and trained silversmith who did much to promote modern silverware. This place setting is interesting for showing an early commercial use of stainless steel, combined with electroplate. After the second world war, cutlery tended to be produced entirely from stainless steel. The name of this service, Plain Pine arose because it was initially designed for the second class, pine panelled, dining room of the Cunard transatlantic passenger liner, Queen Mary. It proved so popular that it was also used on its sister ship, Queen Elizabeth. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | This dessert knife is part of a service initially designed for the tourist-class (second class) dining room of the Queen Mary, the transatlantic Cunard liner. The dining room itself was panelled in pine and this service was called the Plain Pine range. It proved so popular that it was re-used for the Queen Mary’s sister ship, the Queen Elizabeth. Walter Patrick Belk (1872-1963), who designed it, was one of the directors of Roberts & Belk, a well-known firm of manufacturing platers and silversmiths established in Sheffield in 1810. Traditionally the firm had a ‘high class’ goods range – ‘every piece designed by the firm’s own staff’. Belk, originally an architect, was immensely supportive of the Goldsmiths’ Company’s schemes to improve design in silver and he was elected to the Livery of the Company in 1929. |
| Associated objects | |
| Bibliographic reference | British Art and Design 1900-1960 ed. Carol Hogben, London, Victoria & Albert Museum, 1983 p.136-7, ill. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | CIRC.122-1937 |
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| Record created | March 15, 2004 |
| Record URL |
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