20

In

Practical Carving

(1887), Thomas Jefferson Murrey wrote

―

Leg of Mutton - The

leading silversmiths make a shank-holder which is more useful to the carver of a leg of

mutton than the fork.

‖

Three elegant holders identified as

―

Shank(s) holder for leg of lamb

.‖

Courtesy of Andre

Burgos.

A French dealer correctly identified this one as

“

Très beau manche à gigot en métal argenté

de la maison Christofle

”

.

Al Haché wrote,

―

I have had one of these holders for a number of years. I was told it to

be a ham bone holder, but the holder seemed to be too small for ham. A mutton bone

holder makes more sense. This one has an ivory handle which is held to the holder by a

screw. It also has a mother of pearl indentation in the handle. No markings. It appears

that the

‗

Vintage Champagne Wine Key Opener

‘in the beginning of this article

is the

bone holder without the handle

!‖