Antique English Silver Plate Cut Glass Epergne Candelabra Centrepiece 19th C

View Similar Items

Antique Scottish Silver Plate Cut Glass Comport Stag Centrepiece, 19th Century

Sheffield Silver Plate Centrepiece Glass Epergne Stand

Silver Plate Table Centrepiece Glass Sheffield Epergne Dish

Silver Plate Cherub Centrepiece Sheffield Epergne Glass Bowl

Silver Plate Centrepiece Epergne Cherub Glass Table Display

19th Century Georgian Old English Silver Plate and Glass Epergne Centerpiece

Antique Silver Plated and Engraved Glass Comport Centrepiece, 19th Century

Pair Silver Plate Centrepieces - Camel Epergne Glass Bowl Sheffield

Antique Pair of English Victorian Silver Plate and Cut Glass Centrepieces, 1883s

19th Century Silver Plate Epergne and Cruet Service

Rococo Silver Plate Centrepiece Surtout De Table Epergne Dish

English 19th Century Cut Glass and Silver Plate Three Decanter Tantalus

Want more images or videos?

Request additional images or videos from the seller

1 of 21

Antique English Silver Plate Cut Glass Epergne Candelabra Centrepiece 19th C

About the Item

This is a elegant English William IV Old Sheffield silver plate on copper with cut glass centrepiece / candelabra, circa 1830 in date. The central section supporting a cut-glass bowl on a shaped stepped base with scroll decoration, raised on four paw feet. The central knop supporting four numbered reeded branches with acanthus leaf decoration, each with candle sconces, the candle sconces can be exchanged for cut-glass dishes to turn the candelabra into a centrepiece when required. . The attention to detail is absolutely fantastic and it is certain to attract attention wherever placed. Condition: In excellent condition. As an antique item the piece shows signs of use commensurate with age, these minor condition issues are mentioned for accuracy and, as seen in the accompanying photographs, the centrepiecce displays beautifully. Dimensions in cm: Height 34 x Width 48.5 x Depth 48.5 Dimensions in inches: Height 1 foot, 1 inch x Width 1 foot, 7 inches x Depth 1 foot, 7 inches Old Sheffield Plate - or ‘fused plate’ as it is sometimes known, was the first commercially viable method of plating metal. The material was accidentally invented by Thomas Boulsover, of Sheffield's Cutlers Company, in 1743. While trying to repair the handle of a customer's decorative knife, he heated it too much and the silver started to melt. When he examined the damaged handle, he noticed that the silver and copper had fused together very strongly. Experiments showed that the two metals behaved as one when he tried to reshape them, even though he could clearly see two different layers. Boulsover set up in business, funded by Strelley Pegge of Beauchief, and carried out further experiments in which he put a thin sheet of silver on a thick ingot of copper and heated the two together to fuse them. When the composite block was hammered or rolled to make it thinner, the two metals were reduced in thickness at similar rates. Using this method, Boulsover was able to make sheets of metal which had a thin layer of silver on the top surface and a thick layer of copper underneath. When this new material was used to make buttons, they looked and behaved like silver buttons but were a fraction of the cost. The technique Boulsover developed was to sandwich an ingot of copper between two plates of silver, tightly bind it with wire, heat it in a furnace and then mill it out in to sheet, from which objects could be made. Our reference: A3278.

Dimensions:
Height: 13.39 in (34 cm)Width: 19.1 in (48.5 cm)Depth: 19.1 in (48.5 cm)
Style:
William IV (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Cut Glass,Sheffield Plate,Silver Plate
Place of Origin:
England
Period:
1830-1839
Date of Manufacture:
circa 1830
Condition:
Seller Location:
London, GB
Reference Number:
Seller: A32781stDibs: LU950634503012