knife case

knife case, leather or wooden container for cutlery, placed in pairs on a sideboard or buffet in the dining room. The knife case first appeared in the 17th century and was originally covered with leather and elaborate gilt. Typically, it was a box with a serpentine front and sloping lid, the interior fitted with compartments for the knives. In the late 18th century knife cases were also made in the shape of urns and were veneered in wood (first walnut and later mahogany) and sometimes decorated with silver mountings. They also had come to be used as containers for all kinds of cutlery.

By the end of the 18th century, when they were being made in mahogany, with fine ivory inlays and other forms of marquetry, their production had become highly specialized, and occasionally they were incorporated into the main structure of a sideboard. In the 20th century it became fashionable to convert the serpentine-front type of knife cases into cabinets for holding stationery.