Code: 13097
This is a nice two-pronged fork with a pistol-grip silver handle. Such forks were introduced to France by Queen Catherine Medici, during the 16th century. These early forks were responsible for countless injuries whilst eating, the prongs regularly stabbed into the gums that soon became infected. Later, three-pronged examples were deemed safer, and the four-pronged version was found to be much better. It is nice to find such an early example with definitive and intact tines. The fork has a silver handle, but the tines are made of carbon steel.
OBJECT: Fork
CULTURE: Early Georgian
DATE: c. 1730
MATERIAL: Sterling Silver
SIZE: 152mm x 9mm x 15mm (6" long)
WEIGHT: 33 grams
PROVENANCE: Formerly in a private Collection, London, United Kingdom
