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cutting edge'Cutting Edge' is an exhibition at the Geffrye Museum that features five thousand years of the cutler’s art. A collection of knives, forks and spoons ranging from the New Stone Age to the 1950s provides a complete overview of the design and evolution of British cutlery.
Amassed over 45 years by designer and collector Bill Brown, this assembly of over 500 pieces celebrates the many design triumphs created through the ages in making the functional beautiful. Knives of neolithic flint, Egyptian copper, Celtic bronze and Roman bronze and iron are displayed, along with medieval daggers for eating and fighting. Decoratively-handled cutlery sets from the Stuart period, pistol-grip scimitar-bladed Georgian cutlery, and artistic inspired Victorian pieces are also featured. Innovative 20th century Art Nouveau and Deco tableware and the clean lines of modern designer cutlery provide an interesting contrast to earlier pieces.
The displays are arranged in both thematic and chronological order. In addition, two table settings, with all the appropriate food, help bring the exhibition to life. Coloured prints and engravings by artists like Hogarth, Rowlandson and Gillray provide a social comment on the art of dining in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Cutting Edge Designs To complement Cutting Edge, the Design Centre at the Geffrye Museum is highlighting the work of selected contemporary designers and makers working with cutlery in London today. Location: Geffrye Museum, Kingsland Road, Specialist prop companies that hire tableware & cutlery include:
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