Object Description
This is an exquisitely high-quality and rare antique pair of English Old Sheffield silver plated on copper entree dishes, each with lid and stand, circa 1820 in date, and bearing the early Old Sheffield makers mark of James Dixon & Sons.
These stunning shaped rectangular entree dishes feature impressive chased handles with splendid foliate decoration and a lid with embossed foliate decoration and an engraved Lion Rampant crest. The dishes sit on their original stands that are raised on scroll and foliage cast feet.
They are of the highest quality and are ready to grace your dining table.
A truly exquisite pair 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 17 x Width 36 x Depth 27
Dimensions in inches:
Height 6.7 x Width 14.2 x Depth 10.6
J Dixon & Sons – founded 1806 in Sheffield, was one of the major British manufacturers in the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century.
They were the best-known manufacturer of Britannia metal, and also the world leader in manufacturing shooting accessories till the late Victorian era. They produced a variety of other items: from precision tools to aircraft propellors. They were particularly famous whistle makers, known for their outstanding quality. They were one of the 4 great whistle makers, the others being W Dowler & Sons, J Stevens & Son & T Yates.
Their shop was located first at Silver Street (1806), Cornish Place (1822) Sheffield .
Their registered trade mark since 1879 was a Trumpet with a Banner hanging from it. Although registered in 1879, the “Trumpet with Banner” logo was used for many years before registration and appears on many of their silver plate pieces. Besides whistles, they were one of the foremost names in silver plate and sterling tableware including silver tea services and hollowware pieces. They also made silver ware serving pieces and had a wide catalogue of patterns. Their tea sets and hollowware pieces are very valuable as antiques.
In 1915 the company sold its stock to an Italian Company and ceased manufacturing shooting accessories.
The firm continued to be a family run enterprise until 1976. Since 1976 The company was purchased and was in an American ownership.
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: A1521