PAIR OF WEDDING KNIVES Probably English or German, 17th century. Round agate handles tapering downwards, the ends of the handles with simple metal caps. Blade bolster with a putti head in relief in tendrils with pomegranates. Round spatula blades with smith's mark (ground), probably dagger mark The Cutlers' Company London(?). L approx. 22.5 cm. Both agate handles with cracks and minor chipping. The blades polished. A similar German knife from the 17th century, which is in the collection of the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe in Hamburg, shows almost identical design features and the same choice of materials as our example. The forging marks are also identical (see Bernhard Heitmann/Carlos Boerner. Historische Bestecke aus der Sammlung des Museums für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg. Hamburg, 2007. pp. 68 and 191, no. 67). A further comparative example can be found in the Egloffstein Collection (inv. no. 1880.165).