Coupe-papier

KOFI-KARIKARI PAPER KNIFE

Original : ceremonial sword from the Treasure of Kofi-Karikari
The Wallace Collection, London
Paper knife : metal with gold finish

There are two distinct collections of arms and armour in The Wallace Collection. The collection of European arms and armour, which was acquired almost enterely by Sir Richard Wallace, and a select representation of Oriental arms and armour gathered principally by his father, the 4^th
During this period, oriental arms and armor were much sought after and were collected primarily for their decorative and exotic associations. Considered works of art, they adorned the houses of Parisian High Society. This appeal of the exotic, also reflected in contemporary French painting and literature, was an aspect of Romanticism stimulated by particular historical Marquess of Hertford, between 1860 and 1870. events. Napoleon’s Egyptian campaigns and the Greek War of Independance had aroused a general interest in the Ottoman Empire, and the French Conquest of Algeria in 1830 had brought the Arab world into sharper focus.
The paper-knife reproduced here is based on a West African ceremonial sword ofrom the treasure of Kofi-Karikari of Ashanti, bought by Sir Richard Wallace at an auction in 1874.