Lot 122
122
A DUTCH CARVED BOXWOOD CUTLERY SHEATH, with an enamelled bronze and steel knife and fork, the knife with foliate decoration, surmounted by a grotesque head, the fork similarly decorated and with a musician playing an instrument, the sheath intricately carved in five registers with foliage and scenes from the book of Genesis, with two apertures for cutlery, dated 1589 (damages to enamel; the knife handle cracked; the knife and fork associated), circa 1589

Details
A DUTCH CARVED BOXWOOD CUTLERY SHEATH, with an enamelled bronze and steel knife and fork, the knife with foliate decoration, surmounted by a grotesque head, the fork similarly decorated and with a musician playing an instrument, the sheath intricately carved in five registers with foliage and scenes from the book of Genesis, with two apertures for cutlery, dated 1589 (damages to enamel; the knife handle cracked; the knife and fork associated), circa 1589
9½in. (24.1cm.) high the sheath
Literature
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:
R. Randall, Jr., Masterpieces of Ivory from the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, 1985, no. 395

Lot Essay

Cutlery sheaths were a common wedding present in the Lowlands in the 17th century, making the present object a particularly early example. They were normally carved with biblical and domestic scenes, and were inscribed with an appropriate proverb for a couple embarking on a life together.

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