A Short Note on Forks and Art

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I was on my way to something else when I stopped to look at this engraving by Ulrich Pinder, his last supper, the Speculum passionale, published in Nuremberg in 1507.  It has a nice perspective, an interesting ceiling, and a crowded table with very little on it in the way of food.  And no forks.  Knives—yes of course—and big containers of some sort of liquid, but no forks.  As it turns out, the fork really hadn’t made a strong appearance in northern Europe until the end of the century, brought back evidently from travelers in Europe.  The first appearance in a painting, in another Last Supper, I believe, occurs at least by 1599.

I know, there’s no spoons either, but they had been around for a long time, and just didn’t make an appearance on this table for reasons unknown.

"I observed a custome in all those Italian Cities and Townes through which I passed that is not used in any other country that I saw in my travels, neither doe I think that any other nation of Christendome doth use it, but only Italy. The Italian, and also most strangers that are cormorant in Italy, does alwaies at their meales, use a little fork when they cut the meate . . . their forkes being for the most part made of iron or steel, and some of silver, but these are used only by gentlemen. The reason of this their curiosity is because the Italian cannot endure by any means to have his dish touched by fingers, seeing that all men's fingers are not alike cleane. Hereupon I myself thought to imitate the Italian fashion by this forke cutting of meate, not only while I was in Italy, but also in Germany, and often-times in England since I came home."Thomas Coryate, Coryat's Crudities (1611)
See:

Forbes, R. J. "Food and Drink," Charles Singer, et. al. eds. A History of Technology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1956. Vol. II: The Mediterranean Civilization and the Middle Ages, c. 700 B.C. to c. A.D. 1500:  page 126.

Braudel, Fernand, Civilization and Capitalism 15th-18th Century, vol. 1: The Structures of Everyday Life: The Limits of the Possible, London: Collins, 1981:  page 209.