FRANCE CIRCA 1550 - 1580 Complete set of six table knives, probably from a missing leather set used for transportation. The handles are made of stamped silver, wax-filled and partly gilded, the blades of steel with pointed tips, acid-etched over a centimeter in height. The decorative repertoire of the handles is based on two symmetrical "sides" around a circular band composed of fleur-de-lis in its upper part. A repertoire linked to conjugal love in the form of emblems: double phi, double upsilon, double C, as well as crossed arrows, a double fermesse, a pierced heart surmounted by two flames and "pansies" adorn the sleeves. The heel is enhanced with a decoration alternating four fleur-de-lis and cinquefoils (or heraldic roses). The original blades bear a cutler's mark consisting of the letter X surmounted by a dot which has not been recorded. Gross weight : 413 g - length : 23 cm As early as the 19th century, these knives with the same decorations were attributed to the Montmorency family. It now seems that this type of decoration was made by goldsmiths for wedding gifts during the Renaissance. Bibliography: In the book devoted to the collection of Henry-René d'Allemagne, La maison d'un vieux collectionneur, a plate (no. 89 see fig. 1) shows a display case in which many knives of which this rare series was a part are displayed.