Antique George III Old Sheffield Silver Plated C1780 18th C

GBP 245.00

Contact Dealer To Purchase

Object Description

This is an exquisite English antique old Sheffield plate salver, circa 1780 in date.

The elegant raised pie crust border shaped salver features hand chased foliate engraving and sits on three cast reticulated feet.

Add an elegant touch to your next dining experience with this lovely salver.

Condition:
In excellent original condition with no dings, dents or signs of repair, and the copper showing through nicely. Please see photos for confirmation.

Dimensions in cm:
Height 4 x Width 24 x Depth 24

Dimensions in inches:
Height 2 inches x Width 9 inches x Depth 9 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: A2894c

Object Details

  • dimensions
    W:24 x H:4 x D:24 centimeters
  • period
  • country
  • year
    circa 1780

Dealer Opening Times

We are open weekly as follows:

Monday
10:00 - 17:00
Tuesday
10:00 - 17:00
Wednesday
10:00 - 17:00
Thursday
10:00 - 17:00
Friday
10:00 - 17:00
Saturday
Closed
Sunday
Closed

Dealer Contact

Telephone
+44 (0)20 8809 9605
Web
Email

Dealer Location

Manor Warehouse
318 Green Lanes
London
N4 1BX

Please note that we are also open on alternate Saturdays. Please call to confirm.

View Map