KNIFE WITH THE COAT OF ARMS OF THE VENETIAN BEMBO FAMILY Italy, probably Venice around 1500. Flat, ridged silver handle tapering slightly towards the blade with niello decoration, the upper and lower sides of the handle in the shape of trophies, foliage and the Bembo family coat of arms. The narrow sides engraved with a braided band. Gilt grip cap, rounded and with leaf decoration in relief. Pointed blade on the back, the base engraved with vine work and gilt. Inlaid smith's mark in copper in the shape of a Y. Blade bolster moulded several times, engraved in relief with a leaf wreath and gilt. L 24.3 cm. Slight corrosion, blade partially abraded. Grip cap slightly incomplete, chipping at the end of the blade. Signs of use. The escutcheon in the typical Venetian form with the coat of arms of the Bembo family, which for generations provided important ambassadors, senators, procurators and, with Giovanni Bembo, the 92nd Doge, who ruled from 1 December 1615 to 16 March 1618. Cf. for modelled knife handles in niello technique, also from Italy and dating from around 1500: Klaus Marquardt. European cutlery from eight centuries. Stuttgart, 1997. p. 58, fig. 157. Marquardt uses the same gilded knob ends and the same motifs, such as the musical instruments, coat of arms cartouches, weapons and shields. According to Marquardt, the models for the design can probably be traced back to Giovanni Antonio da Brescia. For another cutlery ensemble with a similar decoration, but different in the design of the cutlery handles, see Dorotheum auction catalogue, Franz Emmerich Graf Lamberg cutlery collection. Vienna, 1912. p. 7, figs. 79/80/82.