Double-Headed Eagle – Figural Letter Opener

A ceremonial object shaped by fascination with duality, heraldic form and sculptural presence

Double-Headed Eagle was created from a long-standing fascination with the form of the imperial two-headed eagle. Few heraldic figures possess the same immediate presence: two crowned heads turned in opposite directions, held within one body and one continuous structure.

For me, the power of the figure lies not only in its historical symbolism, but in its visual tension. One head turns towards the East, the other towards the West – a powerful image of simultaneous awareness in two directions. More importantly, the form itself is compelling: symmetrical yet restless, balanced yet never static.

The letter opener offered a way to translate that fascination into a functional object. Rather than applying the eagle as decoration, the entire handle was developed from the figure itself. The two heads, crowns, feathers and central structure determine the architecture of the object and gradually transition into the blade.

The blade and figural handle were cast as one continuous form, allowing sculpture and function to remain inseparable. After casting, the surface was extensively refined by hand through filing, chasing and repeated correction of the modelling.

The two eagle heads form the visual centre of the composition. Their opposing profiles create a sense of vigilance and directional tension, while the shared crown and feather structure bind them into a single sculptural body.

This dual orientation gives the object its character. The figure does not resolve into a single frontal view. It changes as the object is turned, held and used, revealing different relationships between the heads, crown, feathers and blade.

The blade remains deliberately restrained. Its long, tapering geometry extends away from the concentrated complexity of the handle, creating a movement from sculptural density towards a single precise line.

The entire object was finished with 23-carat Italian gold. The gilded surface responds differently across polished and hand-worked areas, allowing light to reveal the modelling rather than flatten the form into a uniform reflective surface.

A custom dark-green wooden presentation case was created specifically for Double-Headed Eagle. Its satin-lined interior protects the gilded object while establishing a controlled setting for its presentation.

The hinges and clasps were shaped, fitted and gilded by hand as part of the same material language. Their geometric construction contrasts with the figural complexity of the handle and transforms the case from packaging into an extension of the work.

Double-Headed Eagle belongs to the Functional Objects section of the Collection, where familiar tools are reconsidered through sculptural form, historical reference and traditional metalworking.

The result is not simply a letter opener carrying an imperial motif. It is a personal response to a form that has fascinated me for years – an object in which East and West, symmetry and tension, symbolism and function are brought together within a single gilded figure.

Experience Double-Headed Eagle through sculptural detail, heraldic form and the ritual of use.