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Dessert knives and forks: M.10A-M-1978

Current Location: In storage

Maker(s)

Silversmith: Boulton, Matthew (Probably)
Handle maker: Unknown
Retailer: Dobson & Sons

Entities

Categories

Description

Silver-gilt and mother-of-pearl; each knife and fork with silver-gilt blade or tines and mother-of-pearl handle

Silver-gilt and mother-of-pearl, wood lined in velvet; each knife (A-F) has a silver-gilt blade with parallel sides and rounded tip, a silver-gilt ferrule moulded with parallel bands and a mother-of-pearl handle of flattened octagonal section with broadens towards the rounded terminal. Each fork (G-L) has four silver-gilt tines on a slender baluster stem, and a mother-of-pearl handle similar to those of the knives. The case (M) is of of oak; it is rectangular with a hinged lid set with a vacant brass plaque; the interior is fitted with a lift-out tray and is lined with green velvet.

Legal notes

Given by Miss Diana F. Kraemer, 1978

Place(s) associated

  • London ⪼ England

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (1978-04-24) by Kraemer, Diana F.

Dating

19th Century, Early#
George III
1806 CE - 1807 CE

Note

The silver-gilt blades and tines were hallmarked in London in 1806-07 and were probably by Matthew Boulton of Birmingham. They were given new, replacement handles in the early 20th century when the case was also made to hold the set

School or Style

Edwardian

Components of the work

Fork Handle composed of mother-of-pearl
Knife Handle composed of mother-of-pearl
Case composed of oak Length 26.6 cm Width 22.9 cm
Surface Of Blade composed of gold
Surface Of Tines composed of gold
Fork Tines composed of silver
Knife Blade composed of silver
Lining composed of velvet
Fork Length 16.4 cm
Knife Length 19.2 cm

Inscription or legends present

  • Text: MB
  • Location: On the blade and the tines
  • Method of creation: Struck
  • Type: Maker's mark

Inscription present: monarch's head

  • Location: On the blade and the tines
  • Method of creation: Struck
  • Type: Hallmark

Inscription present: lion passant

  • Location: On the blade and the tines
  • Method of creation: Struck
  • Type: Hallmark
  • Text: L
  • Location: On the blade and the tines
  • Method of creation: Struck
  • Type: Hallmark
  • Text: DOBSONS & SONS / SILVERSMITHS 32 PICCADILLY
  • Location: On the inside rim of the case
  • Method of creation: Inscribed in black on ivory or ivorine
  • Type: Retailer's label

Identification numbers

Accession number: M.10A-M-1978
Primary reference Number: 167153

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Thursday 30 June 2016

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Dessert knives and forks" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/167153 Accessed: 2024-04-19 03:55:22

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:

{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/167153 |title=Dessert knives and forks |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-04-19 03:55:22|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/objects/object-167153

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