"This iron creature had to have lived in Chambord, the royal hunting lodge in the Loire Valley. Fasolt and Fafner built Valhalla, a new castle for the Gods, but Chambord is far grander. A knife I hear you say!…No!! A fundamental implement of mankind, creating a subtle and rewarding artistic violation of an everyday item, causing a symphony of neural firings from the cerebellum to the prefrontal cortex. A multi-layered swirl of historical reference, and gruesome medieval games, thrilling and yet bewildering…Simultaneous exciting vibrations proclaiming, beauty but also devilish violence, so why does it exist?…
This tool's mission is to 'bludgeon ennui' to push the boundaries of design and function as far as they can go because it loves, nay… worships, violent extremes."
The 11in (28cm) long knife, c.1650, with a carved horn handle had been bought from a dealer in Lyon by the London dealer who entered it for sale on August 15.
Mr Murland was, as suggested above, quite satisfied with the consignment, and chose to photograph it against the backdrop of Orford Castle for both the front and back of the catalogue.
Plenty of people were interested in viewing it, but this kind of thing really appeals to a specialist market only, and there were around six serious enquirers who competed for it.
Ultimately it went to an American collector who left an absentee bid at a mid-estimate £3500. Needless to say Mr Murland thought that it should have made more.
