Page Turner, Paper knive - Certificate included - Elephant ivory, Silver - Rat - Japan - Meiji period (1868-1912)

A very beautiful and long (38. 5cm) page turner/paper knife. Handle was made in Japan in the Meiji period (ca 1860) and fully carved in the shape of a group of rats. Four rats in total. The blade is made of sterling silver and is also marked with an English sterling silver mark. (Meaning that this piece was exported from Japan to England) . Date letters silver is 1885 with town mark Sheffield. It has been debated for years whether these types of wonderful objects are page turners or letter openers. Officially, neither is the case, this is a paper knife. They were sold in various materials (silver, gold, ivory, tortoise, etc.) The purpose of a paper knife is cutting open recently bound books; in the 19th century, pages were often still glued together and with this item, you could separate them. They are a popular collector's item. This object is made of elephant ivory and comes with a certificate. The certificate has been issued by Mr. A. Keddeman. The appraiser has physically seen the object and has applied the material and dates. (Certificate: 2755) . With this certification, we can sell this object worldwide. We specialise in selling walking canes. The walking canes are wrapped up carefully and sent in professional hard tubes for extra protection. International packages: our packages are carefully wrapped in quality materials and shipped insured with Track and Trace. If you have won multiple objects, you will not have to pay extra shipping costs. Please view our page for all our objects: https: //www. catawiki. com/nl/u/216925-anythingelse