Very Unusual Gothic/Pagan Letter Opener

Will you accept "mythical" as a possibility?

 

The panel looks Roman or Greek inspired considering the pan flute and goat.

 

I'm glad someone else thinks there's a pan flute on the left.

 

Looks like a 20th C. letter knife to me, in an imaginary style.

In general, letter knives postdate the invention of letters, as we know them. Before the introduction of adhesive sealed envelopes in the late 19th C, to open a letter you would just crack the seal and unfold it.

The use for a knife before envelopes would be confined to heating a thin blade and using the hot knife to open a letter without breaking the seal, so the recipient would not know their post was being read.

 

Well, here's a fun history of sealing wax on this funny, The Art of Being Manly. A place where one might find the right tutelage on one's way to manli-hood

Wax Seals: A History and How-To

 

1970-80 repro. That's when the dragon craze began. The body is, as Bakersgma said, Greco-Roman myth. Could be a repurposed piece.

 

That's the point at which I started with this item - looking to Mythology. Each side of the blade is different, so two different meanings. I'm looking for someone to explain exactly what is depicted on each side of the blade.

 

A super observation. I didn't notice the pan flute, but that must be what it is in his hand.

 

I think it's also 20th Century, although it was suggested to me that it might be late 19th Century. The initials "LM", which could very well belong to the creator of this piece, and depiction of what almost certainly looks like a witch on a broom are intriguing.

 

Sealing wax? What does that have to do with my item?

 

That's how afa was dating it - the page also gave some background on how envelopes as we know them came to be - that might help someone (me) dating correspondence in the future.

 

I think it's nicely done. I'm not seeing a witch on a broom.

 

Odysseus had a faithful dog so that may be the first image.
Zephyrus was the god of the south wind and his lover was the goddess Chloris.

Definitely Pan with his pipes and a goat on the second one.
Hades is usually shown with a staff so the other figures could be Hades and Persephone.

Either your photo is a bit pixilated or the mold cast for this wasn't done well. I still believe it's a modern piece based on the two different styles - dragons weren't part of Greek mythology.

 

Thanks for that explanation. I think that's a Phoenix on the handle. Don't know what the serpent is representing. The photos don't do the piece justice. The casting has been done very well and is silver or chrome plated. There is quite a bit of detail. I have a weird friend who insisted that my letter opener was a ceremonial Satanistic dagger. I emailed my friendly local Church Of Satan. The folks there thought it was Mythological and said it was a very impressive piece. I just wish I knew who "LM" was and how this person relates to this piece. What does the mark next to the letters look like to you? Thanks.

 

What does that image look like to you? The only other thing that came to mind was a chimney sweep.

 

I just noticed your emo - ouch.

 

I vote fantasy item, late 20 th C. You can interpret the imagery all u want but it won't change the basic ID.

 

LM obviously stands for Lucifer Morningstar, a name for the devil.

A recent multi episode documentary program on TV about how Lucifer visits the mortal plane and runs a nightclub in LA may indicate that Lucifer actually brought this with him from the infernal regions, and may have lost this in the street, from where of course it naturally found its way to the OP, possibly as part of some cosmic scheme.

You cannot tell me such a significant coincidence is all a work of fiction, and that this mega-powerful object is just some casual artistic concoction for the new age loony market.

 

For some reason I

For some reason I wasn't associating "witch on a broom" with the maker's mark but, yes, could be. Maybe a flying chimney sweep?