Blue & White Handle Fork

This is a rare early fork where the handle is made of Saint Cloud porcelain in the first half of the 18th century around 1725. The handle is made of a creamy colored soft paste with a nice under glaze blue decoration typical for them. The handle is an early cannon shape which is hand painted with Renaissance inspired lambrequin designs loosely derived from the broderie ornaments of the designer Jean Berain (1640-1711) and his followers. The end of the handle is painted with a stylised flower head. The fork has two tines on a baluster stem - a very early design as well. The metal parts are made of steel and the ferrule and decorative end cap made of silver. The metal parts are original to the piece which is not often the case. The set is in great condition with some minor oxidation to the metal parts which is normal but it is better looking than most. A tiny bit of wear to the glaze and some minor firing faults common to these early pieces especially since they are softpaste. Two fine hard to spot hairlines going from the ferrule end inwards as shown. A fairly common issue on these and it is still a superb example and displays perfectly! Unmarked which is always the case. The fork is 8.5 inches long of which the visible part of the handle is about 3.375 inches. Please email me for more information or other pictures.