TWO-PIECE CUTLERY SET WITH KNIFE AND FORK Königsberg, early 17th century. Edged, slightly conical handle of clear amber, inlaid with gold foil in the form of stylised blossoms and tendrils and inlaid with ivory sticks. Triply divided by two ring segments. Pressed grip cap with a metal pommel as a finial. The blade bolster has an edged spherical shape. Pointed blade with remnants of a forge mark on the back. Gilt fork with three prongs, the fork neck canted, jointed in the bolster. L knife 21.5 cm, L fork 17.5 cm. Fork and knife: amber cracked. General scratches. On the fork: one bowl missing from the handle, one bowl loose and in fragments, one bowl loose. Small defect at the end of the handle. Handle cap with chipped edges. Knife: Blade oxidised. Grip cap with repair and putty. Grip cap with chipped edges. Fork neck and tines slightly oxidised. One ivory fillet missing from the handle. A knife with a comparable handle in terms of choice of material, decoration and articulation can be found in the Victoria and Albert Museum London: C.T.P Bailey. Knives and forks of Victoria and Albert Museum. Plymouth, 1927, Fig. 46. Another set of cutlery with handles in the same technique but different design is in the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum Munich. Cf. Gertrud Benker. Old cutlery. Munich 1978. p. 70, no. 86. See for a pair of knives with a very similar handle, which are in the possession of the Austrian Museum of Applied Arts: Metall für den Gaumen, Bestecke aus den Sammlungen des Österreichischen Museums für angewandte Kunst. Riegersburg Castle, 1990, p. 53, fig. 149/150.