Medieval Iron Knife with Bronze Pommel

Circa 1500 A.D. Comprising a single cutting edge, scale tang and bifacial pommel with incised motifs. Cf. Marquardt, K., Eight Centuries of European Knives, Forks and Spoons: an Art Collection, Europe, 1997, pp.28-32, for type.49 grams, 20.2 cm (8 in.). Acquired 1960s-1990s. Late Alison Barker collection, a retired London barrister. In the medieval knives, the tang could be attached to the tang in two ways depending on the the form of the tang. Whittle-tang knives have a tapered tang which is inserted into or through the handle. Scale-tang knives have wider and flatter tangs onto which the plates comprising the handle are attached with metal rivets.