NOTE KNIFE Italian, 1st half of the 16th century. Edged and tapering ivory handle, the top and bottom of the handle engraved with a garland of fruit and a flowering vine. Stepped grip cap with inlaid metal plates and green-coloured ivory, the grip end rounded and applied with an acanthus leaf rosette. Square blade guard engraved with leaf decoration and remnants of gilding. Spatula blade with decorative point, engraved with song lyrics and musical accompaniment (blessing and thanksgiving for the meal). "Gratiarum actio 1.9 Tenor / Pro tuis deus bene fi ciis gratias agimus tibi" or "Benedictio mensae 1.9 Tenor / Quae sumpturi sumus bene dicat trinus et unus". L 29.5 cm. Age-related patina and traces of ageing, tension or drying crack on one side. Minor cracks. Gilding slightly rubbed. End rosette of the grip cap chipped. These wonderfully curious serving knives with engraved musical and vocal accompaniment date from the 16th century and give us an insight into a table culture of the Italian Renaissance that is foreign to us today. These so-called 'notation knives' or 'music knives' show a blessing on one side of the blade, which was possibly sung before the meal, and a grace on the reverse, which was probably sung after the meal. It remains a mystery as to when these knives were used at a meal, on what exact occasion and by whom. The engraved vocal range (tenor or bass) implies that the users of the knives must have had a professional understanding of music. Kirstin Kennedy of the Victoria and Albert Museum surmises that a wealthy Italian family, who may have owned such opulent knives, did not use them to cut their own food. This task was more likely to have been performed by domestic servants (cf. Victoria & Albert Museum London, inv. no. 310-1903). It remains questionable whether such domestic servants could read music. Dr Flora Dennis, on the other hand, considers it likely that these knives had a socio-cultural character anyway. For her, the practical use is less important than the social aspect. In her opinion, these knives could also have been used within brotherhoods, religious or aristocratic societies or in academia as part of a common rite (cf. Scattered Knives and Dismembered Song: Cutlery, Music and the Rituals of Dining. In: Renaissance Studies, vol. 24, no. 1, 2010, pp. 156-184). The fact that two such musical knives from the same private collection are being auctioned is an absolute exception. For the Koller auction house, it is all the more of an honour to present a music knife at auction for the second time. The first opportunity arose on the occasion of the successful auction of the Nessi Collection (auction S11, 2 April 2012, lot 896). It is known from the notes of the V & A London that such knives were sold at auction in the period between 1873 and 1904. Mentioned by name is a set of three from the former Foulc Collection, which is now in the Philadelphia Museum (inv. no. 1930-1-125 ff.), two more were sold in 1904 in Cologne at the Bourgeois Freres auction and a further knife with a different handle comes from the Spitzer Collection (cf. Victoria & Albert Museum London, inv. no. 310-1903). Bibliography: - Jan van Trigt. From gothic to art deco, Cutlery, The J. Hollander collection. Antwerp, 2003. p. 26, fig. 30. - for the type of musical knife with different musical accompaniment: Gertrud Benker. Old cutlery, a contribution to the history of table culture. Munich, 1978, p. 63, fig. 70. This object has a trade licence for the EU. Due to the use of protected materials, this object may not leave the EU.