Description:
One of seven knives and six forks with tortoiseshellware handles in swirled green and blue, silver mounts, and steel blades and tines. As well as in pottery, 18th-century handles for knives and forks were made in a broad range of materials, including metal, stone, bone, or horn. Typically, spoons were purchased separately and made entirely of metal. English salt-glazed stoneware and lead-glazed agateware cutlery handles survive in somewhat greater numbers than do creamware types. Hard and soft-paste porcelain versions variously were made in China, on the European continent, and in England. Several 18th-century documents record ceramic handles. The account and memorandum books for Thomas Whieldon's Fenton Vivian Factory include a Nov. 7, 1749, entry for the sale of "32 desert handles" to a Mrs. Broad and presumably refers to handles for dessert knives and forks. Simeon Shaw stated in his 1829 "History of the Staffordshire Potteries" that Whieldon supplies "knife hafts, for Sheffield cutlers." Supporting this are agateware knife and fork handles that were excavated at the Fenton Vivian site. A November 29, 1765 entry in the sales account books of Thomas and John Wedgwood, of the Big House, Burslem, credits the account of "Cousin Josia Wedgwood" with "Knife handles and a set of Red printed Tea and c." valued at seven shillings, six and a half pence. The ceramic-handled cutlery market extended to America as well as evidenced by the 1770 inventory taken at the Williamsburg palace of Gov. Botetourt, the last Royal Governor of Virginia. Listed in his Butler's pantry are: "5 Green handle carving knives and forks and 1 ditto white china handle 1 Case containing 1 doz Knives and 1 doz Forks with China Handles." The 1771 estate inventory of Anthony Hay, one time keeper of Williamsburg's Raleigh Tavern, includes entries for "1 Walnut Knife Box" and "63 White Handle Knifes....do Forks."
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