German Sweetmeat Fork

The fork in Figure 1, while appearing relatively minor, actually tells a multifaceted story about European life. For one, the object is made of several ornate materials. In particular, it has silver and silver gilt, which circulated in some capacity in Europe, but mostly came from the East. The gilt means that the silver was gilded with gold, adding a finish that would appeal to upper-class individuals. Furthermore, the rock crystal was also likely imported (Jaritz 2014). Most importantly though, the fork itself, though now considered a fixture of European life, actually came to Europe from the East, and ultimately was not used primarily for eating itself until the end of the Medieval period, according to the Metropolitan Museum of Art description of the object. Instead, it is thought that this particular fork may have been used for serving, or just for symbolic purposes, given its elaborate and expensive character.

Comparing this to the much older fork in Figure 2 that is from the 6th-7th century in the Middle East (modern day Iran and Iraq), we can see that there are many similarities. This is because forks were introduced to Europe from the East (Rebora 2003, 14), and while they took on different forms, they often kept much of the same original shape and character. For one, the two-pronged structure remains present, which appears to stay until forks are used as personal utensils in later years. However, the materials are notably different, and reflect European interest in materais such as silver and silver-gilt.