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Etui Knife with Green-stained Ivory and Mother-of-Pearl Handle Knife, ca. 1790
This is a knife. It was manufactured by John Wilson & Sons. It is dated ca. 1790 and we acquired it in 1985. Its medium is green-stained ivory, pewter, steel, mother-of-pearl. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.
text from "Historical Overview" in Feeding Desire catalogue:
"Althought it was the norm for individuals to travel with cutlery and other flatware until the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century, this custom did not die out when hosts started to provide flatware for their guests. Traveling sets continued to be used when visiting inns, as exemplified by Celia Fiennes's will cited above, and for picnics, hunts, and other outdoor occasions, well into the twentieth century. The sets often were hinged to fold ( figs. 50, 51), and may have had fittings on the spoon to hold the tines (fig. 52) rather than having small or removable handles as earlier pieces did. Fancier sets sometimes included the addition of a beaker, and such amenities as salt, pepper or mustard holders fitted in a leather case (fig. 53). In other sets, both handles had pockets to recieve the blades or tines of the other implement, so when shut they formed an etui (fig. 54).
This object was
donated by
Eleanor L. Metzenberg.
It is credited The Robert L. Metzenberg Collection, gift of Eleanor L. Metzenberg.
Its dimensions are
L x W x D: 18.4 × 1.7 × 1.3 cm (7 1/4 × 11/16 × 1/2 in.)
It has the following markings
On blade, stamped: [1] BILBOA (mark for John Wilson)
Cite this object as
Etui Knife with Green-stained Ivory and Mother-of-Pearl Handle Knife, ca. 1790; Manufactured by John Wilson & Sons (United Kingdom); probably Germany; green-stained ivory, pewter, steel, mother-of-pearl; L x W x D: 18.4 × 1.7 × 1.3 cm (7 1/4 × 11/16 × 1/2 in.); The Robert L. Metzenberg Collection, gift of Eleanor L. Metzenberg; 1985-103-133-a
This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Feeding Desire: Design and the Tools of the Table, 1500-2005.
