Antique Old Shefield Silver Plated Salver by Smith, Tate, Nicholson C1810 19th C

GBP 285.00

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Object Description

This is an exquisite English antique old Sheffield Plate salver bearing the makers mark ( a hand) for Smith, Tate, Nicholson and Holult, circa 1810 in date.

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

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

Condition:
In excellent original condition with clear marks. Please see photos for confirmation.

Dimensions in cm:
Height 20 x Width 4 x Depth 4

Dimensions in inches:
Height 8 inches x Width 2 inches x Depth 2 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: A2894b

Object Details

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We are open weekly as follows:

Monday
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Tuesday
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Wednesday
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Thursday
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Friday
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Saturday
Closed
Sunday
Closed

Dealer Contact

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+44 (0)20 8809 9605
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Dealer Location

Manor Warehouse
318 Green Lanes
London
N4 1BX

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

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