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1996

  • We acquired this object.

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2025

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Cheese Knife with Mother-of-Pearl Handle Knife

This is a knife. It was manufactured by F. Nicoud. It is dated ca. 1890 and we acquired it in 1996. Its medium is gold plated, silver, mother-of-pearl. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.


Made from oyster shell, pearl-handled flatware was popular in the 19th century when grand flatware sets expanded in scope and sophistication.

It is credited Museum purchase from Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Program, Decorative Arts Association Acquisition, and Sarah Cooper-Hewitt Funds.

Its dimensions are

L x W x D: 22.6 × 2.7 × 0.8 cm (8 7/8 × 1 1/16 × 5/16 in.)

It has the following markings

Unmarked

Cite this object as

Cheese Knife with Mother-of-Pearl Handle Knife; Manufactured by F. Nicoud (French, active 1890); France; gold plated, silver, mother-of-pearl; L x W x D: 22.6 × 2.7 × 0.8 cm (8 7/8 × 1 1/16 × 5/16 in.); Museum purchase from Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Program, Decorative Arts Association Acquisition, and Sarah Cooper-Hewitt Funds; 1996-56-76

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibitions Iridescence and Feeding Desire: Design and the Tools of the Table, 1500-2005.

This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use page.

If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://www-4.collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18653913/ |title=Cheese Knife with Mother-of-Pearl Handle Knife |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=11 February 2025 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>