The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 22, 2025

Fork with Mule-Head Finial

375–425 CE
silver
Overall: 0.5 x 20.4 cm (3/16 x 8 1/16 in.)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Quentin Alexander 1987.210
Location: 103 Roman

Did You Know?

This fork served a utilitarian purpose as flatware in antiquity.

Description

This two-tined silver fork has a faceted handle that terminates in a mule head, perhaps a nod to its use for meat— whether cooking, serving, or eating. Forks from the premodern Mediterranean are rare, only known through a small number of surviving examples. Extant forks are relatively large and often bronze, making this silver example still more rare.
  • Michael Ward
    -1987
    Mr. and Mrs. Quentin Alexander, Chagrin Falls, OH, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1987-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Turner, Evan H. “The Year in Review for 1987.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 75, no. 2 (1988): 65, no. 7. www.jstor.org
    Parani, Maria G. Byzantine cutlery: an overview. Athēnai: Christianikē Archaiologikē Hetaireia, 2010. Reproduced: P. 149, fig. 8
  • From Hand to Mouth: A History of Flatware. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland OH (October 18, 1994-March 26, 1995)
    The Year in Review for 1987. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 24-April 17, 1988).
  • {{cite web|title=Fork with Mule-Head Finial|url=false|author=|year=375–425 CE|access-date=22 March 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1987.210