Cecil Rhodes' Silver Service Knife

Cecil Rhodes’ Silver Service Knife 
 
This distinguished silver service knife, adorned with intricate engraving along its profile, was commissioned by Cecil Rhodes in the final decades of the 19th century. It stands as a rare embodiment of aristocratic refinement and historical gravitas. Fashioned by a master French silversmith of the period, the piece bears the engraved initials “C.R.”—a discreet yet unequivocal mark of provenance that links it directly to one of the most consequential figures of British imperial history.
Rhodes, architect of colonial expansion and founder of Rhodesia, was renowned not only for his political ambition but for his cultivated taste in objects of enduring beauty and symbolic weight. This knife, conceived for ceremonial use, reflects the confluence of utility and ornament, discretion and grandeur. It is a relic of a man whose influence shaped continents, and whose possessions mirrored the stature he commanded.
Preserved in exemplary condition, untouched by restoration, the knife retains its original integrity. The accompanying certificate of authenticity attests to its origin and commission, offering collectors a rare opportunity to possess an artifact that bridges the realms of personal legacy, craftsmanship, and imperial history.
To acquire this piece is to inherit a fragment of Rhodes’ world—a world of ambition, ceremony, and enduring consequence.
Cecil John Rhodes was born on July 5, 1853, in Bishop's Stortford, England, and died on March 26, 1902, in Muizenberg, South Africa. He emigrated to Africa at the age of 17 for health reasons and settled in Natal, where he began working in the mining industry during the diamond rush. In 1888, he founded De Beers, which became the largest diamond company in the world.
A fervent supporter of British imperialism, he envisioned a railway stretching from Cairo to Cape Town. From 1890 to 1896, he served as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony. He established the British South Africa Company, which played a key role in the creation of Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe and Zambia. His racist and colonialist ideas deeply influenced South African politics and laid the groundwork for apartheid. After his death, part of his fortune was used to create the prestigious Rhodes Scholarships at Oxford University.
 
Doktor Lazarus Archaeologist, Historian, Collector, Independent Curator