Fork, Knife, and Spoon
c. 1600
- Medium
- Bloodstone (Heliotrope), silver, gilding, and steel
- Classification
- Metalwork
- Dimensions
- Knife: H.: 24 cm (9 7/16 in.); Fork: H.: 18 cm (7 1/8 in.); Spoon: H.: 19 cm (7 1/2 in.)
- Culture
- Southern Germany
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Applied Arts of Europe
- Credit line
- European Decorative Arts General Acquisition Fund
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Teens profiles and older: its subject is for older viewers (war, death, the Passion, drink or the like). How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
This rare complete set of cutlery consists of a fork, knife, and spoon that are all finely worked with precious materials. The delicate scrolling silver-gilt mounts and finials with diminutive helmeted heads of the goddess Minerva date these utensils to around 1600, which was when personal cutlery sets became increasingly popular in court culture. For the banqueting elite of German courts, having a personal cutlery set was a requisite sign of civility. As objects they were equally prized for use at the table or as art pieces found in Kunstkammeren (collector’s cabinets of curiosities). Utensils using hardstones were especially sought after as the material was believed to have curative properties.
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
