Antique Set of 4 English Old Sheffield Entree Serving Dishes, 19th Century

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Antique Set of 4 English Old Sheffield Entree Serving Dishes, 19th Century

About the Item

This is an exquisitely high-quality and rare antique set of four English Old Sheffield plate, (silver plate on copper) serving dishes with stands and covers, Circa 1815 in date. These stunning shaped circular entree dishes each with circular warming stand with twin handles, shaped circular dishes and pull-off domed covers. They are each engraved with the crest and the motto "Deo Favente", which translates as "With God's favour" —a motto that was originally proposed for the Great Seal of the United States. They stand on four distinguished scroll and turned feet, are of the highest quality and are ready to grace your dining table. A truly exquisite set that would make a fine addition to any antique collection. Condition: In excellent condition. As antique items, the pieces show signs of use commensurate with age, these minor condition issues are mentioned for accuracy and, as seen in the accompanying photographs, the dishes display beautifully. Dimensions in cm: Height 20 x Width 30 x Depth 30 Dimensions in inches: Height 8 inches x Width 1 foot x Depth 1 foot 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.

Dimensions:
Height: 7.88 in (20 cm)Width: 11.82 in (30 cm)Depth: 11.82 in (30 cm)
Sold As:
Set of 4
Materials and Techniques:
Sheffield Plate
Place of Origin:
England
Period:
1810-1819
Date of Manufacture:
circa 1815
Condition:
Seller Location:
London, GB
Reference Number:
Seller: A16711stDibs: LU950623526512