A splendid silver fork conceived by Glaswegian arts and crafts designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh is expected to achieve £5,000-8,000 ($7,674-12,280) when it crosses the auction block at Lyon & Turnbull next month.

The fork hails from a specially (and scantily) commissioned set of cutlery

Although £8,000 ($12,280) for a single fork might appear obscene at first glance, this isn't just any old fork.

Hallmarked in Glasgow in 1902, the surprisingly streamlined fork boasts exceptional provenance as well as maker's mark "DWH" (Glasgow silversmith David W Hislop).

A pair of equivalent examples currently resides in Scotland's National Museum, testifying to the fork's nationwide importance in terms of design and manufacture.

One of a mere handful remaining in private hands, forks don't get much rarer than this.

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