Opposite-side view of the Stuart-period iron knife with corroded blade and decorated handle.

Stuart-period iron knife shown in full, with a corroded blade and decorated pale handle.

Close view of the decorated handle of the Stuart-period iron knife.

Close view of the decorated handle of the Stuart-period iron knife.

Stuart-Period Iron Knife with Carved Bone Handle, 17th Century

$350.00

This knife was made to be used. Its iron blade was sharpened, carried, and worked; its pale bone (bovine) handle was carved with a repeating geometric pattern that gave a daily tool a degree of care and individuality.

The blade survives dark with age, while the handle retains its lozenge-section form and incised quatrefoil decoration. It is not a ceremonial weapon or a showpiece. It is a practical object from the Stuart world: an implement that would once have been ordinary, used hard, and rarely preserved.

That is part of its appeal. Seventeenth-century domestic tools often disappeared through use, loss, and replacement. This one remained. The worn iron, carved handle, and accumulated irregularities preserve the evidence of a long working life.

Date: 17th century

Origin: English or British

Material: Iron blade with carved bone handle

Dimensions: Approximately 7¾ in. / 19.8 cm

Weight: 31.8 g

Maker / Markings: No maker’s mark recorded

Exhibition: Harwich Museum, Harwich, Essex, 2026

Condition: Surface corrosion, wear, and irregularity are consistent with age and use. Please review all photographs closely for blade condition, handle construction, and surface detail.

This knife was made to be used. Its iron blade was sharpened, carried, and worked; its pale bone (bovine) handle was carved with a repeating geometric pattern that gave a daily tool a degree of care and individuality.

The blade survives dark with age, while the handle retains its lozenge-section form and incised quatrefoil decoration. It is not a ceremonial weapon or a showpiece. It is a practical object from the Stuart world: an implement that would once have been ordinary, used hard, and rarely preserved.

That is part of its appeal. Seventeenth-century domestic tools often disappeared through use, loss, and replacement. This one remained. The worn iron, carved handle, and accumulated irregularities preserve the evidence of a long working life.

Date: 17th century

Origin: English or British

Material: Iron blade with carved bone handle

Dimensions: Approximately 7¾ in. / 19.8 cm

Weight: 31.8 g

Maker / Markings: No maker’s mark recorded

Exhibition: Harwich Museum, Harwich, Essex, 2026

Condition: Surface corrosion, wear, and irregularity are consistent with age and use. Please review all photographs closely for blade condition, handle construction, and surface detail.

The knife was exhibited at Harwich Museum in Harwich, Essex, from March 4 to June 7, 2026. A photograph documenting the object on display accompanies the purchase.
Its exhibition history places it in a public historical setting before its present offering, while preserving its character as a working object rather than a ceremonial rarity.
The knife was acquired on the United Kingdom art market before 2000 and later formed part of the collection of an Essex gentleman.
The blade is iron with a single cutting edge and socketed construction. The handle is carved bone, decorated with incised geometric and quatrefoil motifs. Its precise regional origin is recorded only as English or British.