Pair of Antique French Pewter-Toned Tartine Knives

A pair of antique tartine knives from the table at Chanteduc, Patricia and Walter Wells's farmhouse in Vaison-la-Romaine, where bread, butter and good company were constants of daily life.

Each knife is compact and well-proportioned, with a smooth, rounded handle in pewter-toned metal that tapers to a flat, faceted base. A neat collar joins handle to blade, and the blades themselves are broad, flat and slightly pointed — the classic form made for spreading rather than cutting.

At a Provençal table, knives like these would have accompanied a basket of bread and a crock of butter, or been laid alongside rillettes, tapenade or fresh chèvre. Today they would sit naturally on a cheese board, a breakfast tray or a well-set lunch table — equally at home in a Paris apartment as in a farmhouse kitchen in the south of France.