What age is this?

[ulysses99]

Can anyone tell me what age this fork maybe?
The small piece to the right and below the fork is a seal which fits into the shaft of the fork having a vase of flowers upon it.
The marks are from the finial and are the only marks upon the silver.
The fork, once screwed together measures 157mm long.
Any help would be much appreciated.
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[dognose]

Hi,

Welcome to the Forum.

My only thoughts are that this may have been part of a campaign set, the type carried by army officers. Space was critical and everything would be made to fit into one another.

Trev.
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[ulysses99]

Hi,
Thanks for the welcome.
Thanks also for the prompt reply.

My only problems with your answer are that the piece is quite fanciful for a soldier and the seal is a vase of flowers.

John
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[dognose]

Hi John,

I don't find it any more fanciful than a man sitting on the edge of a battlefield and insisting on eating with a silver knife and fork.
Depending on the age of your fork I see no reason why it should be austere.

Some years ago I did see a knife not disimilar from your fork, that was part of a campaign set, it had a corkscrew in the handle.

As for the vase of flowers, it could be symbolic of many things, eg part of a family coat of arms etc.

Or maybe it was part of a ladies travelling set.

Regards Trev.
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[byron mac donald]

Wow... this should have been a what is it thread, I have never seen anything like it. Now that you guys ruined it for me ;-) I find it very interesting. I would agree with Trev, for an officer any comfort of home would be important, even if it had a dual purpose and an officer would be one of the only ones that would be able to afford it. Having a seal of the coat of arms (although it may be percieved as snobish) would be a constant reminder of why he was fighting an enemy. What a romantic story could be made of this, depending of course on the name of the officer who used it.

Uly-

Thank you for sharing this very interesting fork/seal thingy.
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