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Source Description
Knife-and-fork sets were common wedding presents among the elite in Flanders and the Dutch Republic during the 1600s. Pairing forceful Mars, god of war, with virtuous but resourceful Diana, goddess of the hunt, was a gesture to the qualities that couples saw in each other, although these two gods were never a pair in Greco-Roman mythology.In the 1600s, one was expected to have one's own eating utensils, and the use of a fork was a new sign of civility; in the Renaissance, most people, including the nobility, ate with their hands. Though ostensibly for use, knife and fork sets with handles of ivory or semiprecious stone could be displayed as prestige gifts and as demonstrations of virtuosity in carving.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
85209
label
Knife-and-Fork Set with Mars and Diana
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
https://purl.thewalters.org/art/VO.127 (71.374, 71.374.A, 71.374.B, 71.374.C)
pageCount
2
Source metadata
id
85209
sourceUrl
https://purl.thewalters.org/art/VO.127 (71.374, 71.374.A, 71.374.B, 71.374.C)
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Knife-and-Fork Set with Mars and Diana
description
Knife-and-fork sets were common wedding presents among the elite in Flanders and the Dutch Republic during the 1600s. Pairing forceful Mars, god of war, with virtuous but resourceful Diana, goddess of the hunt, was a gesture to the qualities that couples saw in each other, although these two gods were never a pair in Greco-Roman mythology.In the 1600s, one was expected to have one's own eating utensils, and the use of a fork was a new sign of civility; in the Renaissance, most people, including the nobility, ate with their hands. Though ostensibly for use, knife and fork sets with handles of ivory or semiprecious stone could be displayed as prestige gifts and as demonstrations of virtuosity in carving.
provenance
Hollingworth Magniac Collection, Culworth [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Hollingworth Magniac Sale, Christie's, London, July 4, 1892, lot 671; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1902 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
1650-1690 (Baroque)
citationUrl
https://purl.thewalters.org/art/VO.127 (71.374, 71.374.A, 71.374.B, 71.374.C)
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Ivory & Bone
flatware
cutlery
containers
imageCount
2
pageCount
2
source
import
dimensionsRaw
3 5/8 in. (9.2 cm)
Source extras
med
ivory, iron
creator_ids
6211
6229
6227
collection_ids
BAR
exhibition_ids
none
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
2925ff0abc52cc27
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
5fec241aba3a9de6
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no