Four Private Collections – including a collection of ceramic handled cutlery, Stockspring Antiques, 114 Kensington Church St, London W8, 27th March – 4th April 2017

A boxed set of Worcester knives and forks c. 1758-60, in a ray skin covered standing box lined with crimson silk velvet and silver braid with twelve pairs of knives and forks, English steel blades of scimitar shape and three pronged forks with silver ferrules.
This exhibition comprises ceramics from four different private collections and includes Japanese and Worcester porcelains and a group of cane handles. Of special note is the collection of more than seventy pieces of ceramic handled cutlery. The majority of these are French and English but there are some interesting examples of Chinese and Continental porcelain too. They provide an exciting and fascinating guide to not only the changes in ceramic handle shapes but also the development and dating of the silver and steel fittings during the course of the 18th century.

A Bow knife and fork, painted in polychrome with the crest of Moses (Luis) Mendes, c. 1756, a merchant in the City of London.