Folding Knife With A Bronze Handle Depicting Saint Joseph; The Blade Is Marked “véritable Brossard”

The handle is shaped like a statuette in the round. Saint Joseph is depicted standing on a small circular pedestal, his head turned slightly, his face framed by a short beard. A cloak fastened across his chest opens to reveal a long, belted tunic. The bronze’s brown patina reveals golden highlights on the face, hands, and the edges of the drapery.

The single-edged, mitered steel blade pivots at the base and folds back along the figure’s back. A close-up reveals the inscription “VÉRITABLE BROSSARD,” with the two words separated by an elongated motif. This mark appears on the blade.

A unique feature of this specimen is that the closed knife can stand upright like a sculpture.

Notably, the quality of the face’s carving—with its highly expressive beard—is remarkable, but especially the rendering of the cloak, whose folds are deeply sculpted.

The brown patina, revealing the gilded bronze on the reliefs, is also superb.

A statuette of Saint Joseph that conceals a folding knife in his back.

A true curiosity, straddling the boundaries of antique cutlery, folk art, and religious sculpture.

Dimension

19 cm open including 10.5 cm of handle.