Tiffany & Co. Silver Set of Twelve "Japanese" Pattern Knives

Deeply inspired by the mixed-metal masterpieces of their Japanese contemporaries, this set of 12 silver knives by Tiffany & Co. exemplifies refined artistry. Each knife features an elegantly elongated blade extending from a narrow, ribbed neck. The handles are adorned with stylized naturalistic motifs in subtle hues of mixed metals, their silhouettes gracefully shaped by flowing, elongated lines. The handle decoration draws upon the aki no nanakusa (Seven Grasses of Autumn), featuring suzuki (eulalia grass), hagi (bush clover), take (bamboo), and kiku (chrysanthemum). A cedar waxwing (renjaku) perches delicately on a strand of suzuki, enhancing the design’s natural elegance. Traditionally celebrated in Japanese poetry, these seven grasses symbolize the fleeting beauty of nature, inspiring seasonal decorations and arrangements that bring a sense of the outdoors inside, reminding us of the natural cycle of life.

The knives are housed in a red leather box adorned with an ukiyo-e (Japanese woodblock print) and engraved with the kanji character 才, meaning "man of talent." The print, created by Utagawa Kunisada (1786–1865), depicts Mitsuuji, the protagonist of Rustic Genji (1829–1842), Kunisada’s wildly popular parody of The Tale of Genji. Often regarded as the world’s first novel, The Tale of Genji is one of Japan’s most significant literary works. It follows the life of Genji, the emperor’s second son, whose exceptional beauty and talent cannot secure him the throne due to his mother’s low noble status. His story unfolds through a series of romantic entanglements, including his unrequited love for his stepmother, the empress. After an affair with his father’s concubine, Genji is exiled from the imperial court.

In Rustic Genji, this noble protagonist is reimagined as a wayward philanderer navigating the pleasure quarters of Nagasaki. The scene on the knife box places him in a teahouse—a euphemism for a brothel—in the Maruyama Pleasure District, watching a Dutch East India Company ship fire a 21-gun salute in the distance. These salutes, dramatic displays of cannon fire engulfing brightly painted ships in smoke, were a popular spectacle in Japan. By 1858, the Dutch trade monopoly had ended, opening Nagasaki and Yokohama to American, British, French, and Russian ships. Reflecting this shift, Kunisada’s 1861 Rustic Genji print features American vessels in the background. The parody contrasts the refined Heian court of The Tale of Genji with a world of common decadence, underscoring the decline of the samurai class after the fall of the shogunate.