Antique Victorian Hand Painted Wood Paper Knife With Kate Greenaway Style Figures, Circa 1880s

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Description

A rare and exceptional antique Victorian wooden paper knife with hand-painted figural decoration covering both sides in their entirety. The … Read more A rare and exceptional antique Victorian wooden paper knife with hand-painted figural decoration covering both sides in their entirety. The figures are executed directly on the wood in period watercolor or gouache beneath an aged varnish layer that shows period-appropriate craquelure consistent with well over a century of age. Scenes include children at play in the Kate Greenaway illustrative tradition, an angel figure, a Punch style character, a figure in bed, and fairy tale narrative vignettes spanning the full 15 inch length of the blade.

Paper knives were the standard Victorian parlor implement used to open the uncut pages of hand bound books, a common feature of volumes produced before industrial binding became standard. Hand painted examples of this quality and figural coverage are genuinely scarce. This piece reads as a singular one-of-a-kind object rather than a production piece, with each figure individually rendered with care and personality.

Material: Turned hardwood, paddle form with bulbous handle

Decoration: Hand painted figures directly on wood, aged varnish layer

Length: Approximately 15 inches

Style: Victorian, Kate Greenaway era illustrative tradition See less