Exquisite pocket fruit knife by unknown maker, 1857

Description

The quality of this lovely little pocket fruit knife is outstanding.

It has a serpentine shaped body and is made with brass liners and rounded iridescent mother-of-pearl scales. It has silver pinched bolsters and a finely tooled silver back bar sleeve, but by far its most charming feature is the face scale.

This is a work of art. It is finely carved with a rayed end and has stylised roses around the micro-engraved rosette silver rivets. There is a navette-shaped micro-engraved inlaid cartouche and the whole thing is embellished with micro-engraved piqué-clouté wire work. The detailed work is remarkable.

The solid silver blade has five hallmarks: The Sheffield crown, lion passant, young Queen Victoria head duty mark, date letter “O” for 1857 and a maker’s mark “TM” inside a top and bottom cusped slug. “TM” normally refers to Thomas Marples, but this is not his mark.

Other pocket fruit knives with this identical maker’s mark have been seen with similar dates, but the maker remains unknown. This rare knife is in very good condition although the blade does not fully sit within the knife when closed.