"Laguiole, Rare 32cm Wedding Knife, Full Ivory Handle, Hand-chiseled Bee & Steel Spring"
FOLK ARTLarge LAGUIOLE folding wedding knife, late 19th or early 20th century
Forged steel / iron spring and bee, and chiseled with a file. Full ivory handle with a very beautiful honey-colored patina, embellished with an oval decoration dotted with the sowing of brass nails (known as "stippling"), in the centre of the handle.
Dimensions
closed knife 17cm and open 32cm !
These large knives were often and traditionally offered as wedding gifts from the late 19th century.
Apart from their larger size than the usual formats (12 to 14cm), they are also often made with ivory.
The blade is not marked with the name of the cutler but is indeed the original one. Being a wedding gift, it happened that for the sake of discretion, the cutler did not put his mark on these commissioned works. The patina of the spring, the bee and the blade are identical and certainly from the same period of manufacture. The tip of the blade is neither blunt nor shortened.
The spring and the iron or steel bee are forged and polished with a file, fully hand made.
These large wedding knives are very rare, and our example is specially interesting for its perfect condition and for the exceptional patina of the ivory handle.
Bibliography
"Laguiole, History of an exceptional knife", by Christian LEMASSON, ARTHEMIS edition 2019
Le Magazine de PROANTIC
TRÉSORS Magazine
Rivista Artiquariato