There is one other image of this object. This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions), and as such we offer a high-resolution image of it. See our image rights statement.
See more objects with the color lightgrey dimgrey darkgrey or see all the colors for this object.
Object Timeline
|
1985 |
|
|
2002 |
|
|
2006 |
|
|
2015 |
|
|
2025 |
|
Fork
This is a fork. It is dated ca. 1690 and we acquired it in 1985. Its medium is steel, mother-of-pearl, horn. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.
text from "Implements of Eating" in Feeding Desire exhibition catalogue:
" Such sweetmeats, also known as "suckets", were featured in a special "banquette" course that follower themain meal. A small two pronged fork proved highly useful for eating these sticky treats. Etiquette manuals from the Italian Renaissance note the importance of the fork to seemly manners: using a fork signaled courteous behavior, itself a relfect of inner virtue (fig. 4). Along with other Italian fashions, the use of a small fork used for sweetmeats and fruits in fifteenth-century Italy eventually spread throughout Europe (fig. 3)"
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: 11.1 x 1 cm (4 3/8 x 3/8 in.)
Cite this object as
Fork; steel, mother-of-pearl, horn; L x W: 11.1 x 1 cm (4 3/8 x 3/8 in.); The Robert L. Metzenberg Collection, gift of Eleanor L. Metzenberg; 1985-103-99
This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Feeding Desire: Design and the Tools of the Table, 1500-2005.
