Bidspirit auction | A 1902 Sheffield Sterling Silver


A 1902 Sheffield Sterling Silver and Mother-of-Pearl Folding Fruit Knife - A folding fruit knife featuring a single sterling silver blade and polished mother-of-pearl handle scales. The blade is of traditional form, tapering to a rounded tip, and is secured to the handle by a metal bolster with a series of parallel linear incisions. The mother-of-pearl handle scales are pinned in three places and feature an inset shield-shaped metal cartouche, which remains blank. The blade bears four legible hallmark punches: a maker's mark C.W.F in a rectangular cartouche, a date letter k in a clipped-corner shield, a lion passant indicating sterling silver purity, and a crown city mark for Sheffield. These marks identify the silversmith as Charles William Fletcher and the year of manufacture as 1902.