AN ENGRAVED BRONZE FOLDING SUCKET FORK (OR COMBINED SPOON AND FORK)
Khorasan, Eastern Iran or Herat, 12th - 13th century

A composite cutlery tool combining a spoon with a shallow ovoid bowl on one terminal with a two-pronged fork on the latter, the shaft presenting two hinges allowing the sucket fork to be folded in half, the centre of the bowl engraved with a duck or stylised bird with high tail feathers against spiralling vegetal scrolls, the back with a quadripartite oval cartouche filled with scrolling leaves, a braided frieze around the edges on either sides, the handle of the fork engraved with a standing bird and an inscription in Arabic in Kufic script, possibly reading Ya Allah, 18cm long.

A nielloed silver combined folding spoon and fork similar to ours is published in the exhibition catalogue Court and Cosmos: The Great Age of the Seljuqs, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2016, cat. 45, p. 117. Sheila Canby refers to the example in the exhibition as the first known hinged spoon after the Roman era, given that this type of utensil would not appear in Europe until about 1400. These combined spoons and forks, often called "sucket forks", were mostly used in Europe for eating sweetmeats, a popular treat in the Middle East (Ibidem, pp. 117 - 118). The folding element is what makes the present lot particularly valuable, acting as a visual reminder of the typical nomadic custom of travelers to carry their own eating implements. The utilitarian function is here wisely blended with the elegant appearance of typical Seljuk engravings featuring both animal motifs and Arabic inscriptions in Kufic script.