German Silver-gilt Travel Cutlery Set, ca. 1800
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GUEST:
So, this my dad brought back from World War II. He was, uh, with Patton, General Patton's, uh, battalion. He acquired it somewhere there. I don't, I don't think it was purchased. He brought this back, tried and tried to get some information on it. Never could. So, a family mystery.
APPRAISER:
Yeah, it really is.
GUEST:
Yeah. And, and Dad, he's gone now. But I wish he could have known what it was, you know, 'cause he loved it.
APPRAISER:
Yeah. So, it's in this fitted box, and it's a personal cutlery set. So, if you were of high income, a prestigious person in Europe-- this is probably made in the late 18th, early 19th century...
GUEST:
Really? Okay.
APPRAISER:
...you would have traveled with your own, um, your own personal set. You never knew what you were going to find when you went someplace.
GUEST:
Right, right.
APPRAISER:
So, you wanted to be prepared.
GUEST:
(chuckles) Right, right.
APPRAISER:
And this really has just about everything you would need for fine dining. Probably made in Augsburg, uh, Germany. There are hallmarks on, um... And I don't know, do you know what this piece is used for?
GUEST:
No.
APPRAISER:
It's an egg cup.
GUEST:
Egg cup, okay.
APPRAISER:
So you'd be able to have your, your h, hard- or soft-, soft-boiled egg. And it has the hallmarks on the front here. They're, you know, quite small, but there's an Augsburg mark, which helps us know where it's made. And very much in the Baroque style that would have been popular from the 17th century. We know that it's, um, not quite that early because of the marks and also, um, the shape of the knife.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
So, the knife is not a pointy knife.
GUEST; Oh, okay, hmm.
APPRAISER:
And, um, certainly in France, right at the cusp of the 18th century, sharp knives were outlawed because of, of too many, I think, too many dinnertime fights.
GUEST:
Oh.
APPRAISER:
And the fork, um, is a traditional fork that we're used to seeing with four tines. So, not an earlier form that only had two, that was more for skewering items.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
The small box, uh, next to you is, uh, probably a personal salt, uh, salt container. Salt or spices. Again, you wanted to bring your own
so that you were certain that they were safe. They hadn't been tainted.
GUEST:
Yeah, yeah.
APPRAISER:
There's a little, um, sort of scoop in front here, which is a marrow scoop, for digging out...
GUEST:
A what?
APPRAISER:
Marrow.
GUEST:
Marrow?
APPRAISER:
From, uh, the bones.
GUEST:
(chuckles) Oh, my gosh, okay.
APPRAISER:
Um, and there's a pick, um, there. Beautiful design, beautiful quality. It's silver, um, with a gold wash on it. So, silver-gilt.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And at auction, I would say a value between $6,000 and $8,000.
GUEST:
(mouthing) (laughing): Okay, whoa. I love that. (chuckles) I don't know whether I could part with it, though. My brother, you know, he, he'll
be willing to, so, I'll just hand it over to him. (both laughing)
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