Pocket Fork by Aaron Hadfield, 1822.

A fine Georgian folding fruit fork, made in Sheffield in 1822 by Aaron Hadfield, one of the most highly regarded Sheffield makers of silver fruit cutlery of the period.

The elegant two-pronged fork is fashioned in sterling silver and folds neatly into a beautifully worked mother-of-pearl handle. The handle displays the wonderful natural iridescence of the shell and is embellished with delicate pique decoration, a vacant rectangular cartouche and finely engraved silver fittings. The lower section is particularly attractive, with diamond-cut decoration terminating in a distinctive shell-form finial.

The silver fork bears a clear group of Sheffield hallmarks, including the maker's mark associated with Aaron Hadfield and the marks dating the piece to 1822.

Aaron Hadfield worked from Pepper Alley, Sheffield, and became particularly noted for his silver cutlery and folding fruit knives and forks. His work from this period is admired for the combination of accomplished Sheffield silverwork with finely fashioned mother-of-pearl handles.

At approximately 13 cm in length, this is a wonderfully compact example of the personal tableware carried by a gentleman or lady during the Georgian period. Folding silver fruit implements were intended for eating fruit at a time when the acidity of fruit could react with ordinary steel cutlery, making silver particularly suitable for the purpose.

More than two centuries old, the piece survives as both a practical object of Georgian ingenuity and a highly decorative example of early nineteenth-century Sheffield craftsmanship.

Maker: Aaron Hadfield
Origin: Sheffield, England
Date: 1822
Period: Georgian / George IV
Materials: Sterling silver and mother of pearl
Length: Approximately 13 cm
Form: Folding two-pronged fruit fork