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Lot 1619 - S20 An important private collection of antique cutlery - Thursday, 21. March 2024, 10.00 AM

KNIFE WITH THE COATS OF ARMS OF CHARLES DE L'AUBESPINE (1580 – 1653).

French, end of the 16th century
Hexagonal wooden handle inlaid with geometrical and floral mother-of-pearl plates. Flat handle cap with a leaf-shaped rivet. Blade with rounded back, engraved at the base with a quadripartite coat of arms with a Maltese cross, a crown and a wreath of leaves. The reverse side bears a medallion with a laurel wreath, an orb and a crown, probably a smith's mark.
L 28.5 cm.


Blade heavily corroded, handle brittle and with numerous losses, requires restoration.

The coat of arms engraved on the blade belongs to Charles de L'Aubespine (1580 Paris - Leuville 1653), Count of Sagonne, Marquis of Châteauneuf, Counsellor to the Parliament of Paris (1603), Ambassador Extraordinary to Holland (1609) and then to Brussels, Negotiator (1617, Return of the Princes), Chancellor of the King's Orders (1620, succeeding his father), Ambassador to Venice and then to England (1629/1630), Councillor of State, Governor of Touraine, Keeper of the Seals.

Cf. for a similar handle inlaid with mother-of-pearl and wood from the Klingenmuseum Solingen: Gertrud Benker. Alte Bestecke, ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Tischkultur. Munich, 1978, p. 63, fig. 69. The base of the blade also bears a similar mark, consisting of a medallion with a laurel wreath and an orb as well as a crown. Cf. for a comparable object with less elaborate motifs: Arthur Pabst, Die Kunstsammlungen Richard Zschille in Grossenhain, Besteck-Sammlung Speise- Tisch- Gärtner-Geräte und Werkzeuge. Berlin. 1893, pl. 30, fig. 186. Another example is illustrated in: Heinz. R. Uhlemann. Vom Fürschneyden, Trinciren und Kredenzen. Solingen, without date. S. 38/39.

Blade heavily corroded, handle brittle and with numerous losses, requires restoration.Cf. for a similar handle inlaid with mother-of-pearl and wood from the Klingenmuseum Solingen: Gertrud Benker. Alte Bestecke, ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Tischkultur. Munich, 1978, p. 63, fig. 69. The base of the blade also bears a similar mark, consisting of a medallion with a laurel wreath and an orb as well as a crown. Cf. for a comparable object with less elaborate motifs: Arthur Pabst, Die Kunstsammlungen Richard Zschille in Grossenhain, Besteck-Sammlung Speise- Tisch- Gärtner-Geräte und Werkzeuge. Berlin. 1893, pl. 30, fig. 186. Another example is illustrated in: Heinz. R. Uhlemann. Vom Fürschneyden, Trinciren und Kredenzen. Solingen, without date. S. 38/39.


CHF 800 / 1 000 | (€ 820 / 1 030)

Sold for CHF 2 500 (including buyer’s premium)
All information is subject to change.