Silversmith:
Unknown
Carver:
Unknown
Shell and silver; bowl and handle carved from a cowrie shell mounted in silver and with silver tines
Shell and silver; the bowl and handle are carved from a cowrie shell (Cypraea tigris) the bowl from the curved back, the handle from the columella. Pinned to the bowl is an engraved acanthus leaf-shaped mount, on the back of which are four loops to hold the two tines of the silver fork. The silver stem of the fork is hinged with the folding mechanism held in place by a slide in the form of a grotesque mask. A broad silver ferrule attaches the stem to the handle. The ferrule is embossed with two borders of swags, fleurs de lis and rosettes.
History note: Not known before Charles Brinsley Marlay, London
C.B. Marlay Bequest
Length: 18 cm
Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1912) by Marlay, Charles Brinsley
17th Century, Mid-Late
Circa
1650
-
Circa
1700
Bowl
composed of
cowrie shell
Handle
composed of
cowrie shell
Ferrule
composed of
silver
Fork
composed of
silver
Loops
Mount
Carving
: The bowl and handle were carved. The mount was engraved and the loops were soldered on its back before it was pinned to the bowl The tines of the fork and the silver stem were forged and fitted with a hinge. The decoration on the ferrule was probably stamped. It was soldered down the back and to the stem before being glued to the handle.
Gluing
Accession number: MAR.M.189-1912
Primary reference Number: 166888
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Applied Arts
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Spoon and fork" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/166888 Accessed: 2024-11-05 16:45:41
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/166888
|title=Spoon and fork
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-05 16:45:41|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
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https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/objects/object-166888
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