France

The handle of this folding knife depicts an outsized soldier of the Revolution or the Empire. He sports a moustache, his hair is tied with a ribbon and covered in a high hat and he is wearing a clumsily monogrammed black coat. This type of knife is known as ‘Pallois’, because it was made by the entrepreneur Pallois, during the Revolution, just as he had carved stones from the Bastille into miniature Bastilles and had medallions cast to commemorate different episodes of the Revolution.