Flesh fork
United States
1750-1850
Measurements
H: 1.25 in x L: 16.75 in x W: 2 in x Depth:in
Materials
Iron
Accession Number
1968.867
Provenance
The flesh fork was acquired from George Thomas, an antiques dealer in McDonough, Delaware, with funds provided by the H. Rodney Sharp Endowment.
Comments
Cooking forks, called flesh forks, were ubiquitous and were made by almost all local blacksmiths. They did not change much over the generations, making dating them or identifying place of origin difficult. This fork has a long shaft flattened at the handle end. It tapers at the handle tip to a thin hook that ends in a curl. At the opposite end, the iron bar was bent downward and split into two rounded and pointed tines that were bent at almost right angles.
