I have started to do some work with ammonites and here a spindly bush grows from this 400 million-year-old fossil one of more than 10,000 ammonite species. It will sound naive, but how extraordinary to have such an ancient treasure so easily available – in this case a Czech dealer in fossils who sells on eBay.

The handle or trunk is made from a 19th-century wooden handle from the USA. It is interesting that the way cutlery was made there seems to differ from that made in Europe. A knife or fork was cut from a strip of steel and the handle section was then covered with two separate pieces of wood, riveted through the whole thing. If you look at the side you can see the strip of steel running down it.

Cutlery handle – wood and pewter (?), steel; Ammonite; oxidised silver; 18 carat gold solder