Silver Serve Wares and Sterling Spoons Collection

Y, a collection of boxed silver plate serve wares, napkin rings,…
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Y, a collection of boxed silver plate serve wares, napkin rings, and sterling spoons, 19th to early 20th century, comprising a cased horn handle carving and fish serving set with sterling ferrules by George Hulley, a delicately engraved and pierced fish serving set, an ivory handle knife and fork set, a set of 12 napkin rings with rose decoration in relief, five assorted napkin rings including a pair of Palestinian silver filigree rings and two Birmingham made sterling rings, and a set of six sterling silver demitasse spoons with amber glass finials, the largest carving knife 39.5 cm long

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  • Ivory - Ivory is a hard white material that comes from the tusks of elephants, mammoth, walrus and boar, or from the teeth of hippopotamus and whales. The ivory from the African elephant is the most prized source of ivory. Although the mammoth is extinct, tusks are still being unearthed in Russia and offered for sale.

    Ivory has been used since the earliest times as a material for sculpture of small items, both in Europe and the east, principally China and Japan.

    In Asia ivory has been carved for netsuke, seals, okimono, card cases, fan supports, animals and other figures and even as carved tusks.

    In the last 200 years in Europe ivory has been used to carve figures, for elaborate tankards, snuff boxes, cane handles, embroidery and sewing accessories, in jewellery and as inlay on furniture. Its more practical uses include being used for billiard balls, buttons, and a veneers on the top of piano keys.

    The use and trade of elephant ivory have become controversial because they have contributed to Due to the decline in elephant populations because of the trade in ivory, the Asian elephant was placed on Appendix One of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), in 1975, and in January 1990, the African elephant was similarly listed. Under Appendix One, international trade in Asian or African elephant ivory between member countries is forbidden. Unlike trade in elephant tusks, trade in mammoth tusks is legal.

    Since the invention of plastics, there have been many attempts to create an artificial ivory
  • Filigree Work - Decorative Arts - Delicate decorations using fine threads of ceramics, glass or other materials to give a lace-like effect, attached together and applied as an ornament.
  • Sterling Silver - Sterling silver is a mixture of 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% of another metal, usually copper. Fine silver is 99.9% pure silver, and is relatively soft and the addition of the very small amount of copper gives the metal enough strength and hardness to be worked into jewellery, decorative and household objects.
  • Finial - An architectural decoration, found on the upper parts of of an object. On furniture they are usually found on pediments, canopies and shelf supports. On smaller ceramic or silver items, such as spoons, they may decorate the top of the item itself, or the lid or cover where they provide a useful handle for removal.

    Finials have a variety of shapes and forms. They may be urn-shaped, baluster shaped round or spiral, but usually taper into an upper point. Many real life shapes may also be used as finials, such as pineapples, berries, pinecones, buds, lotus and acorns. Sometimes animals such as a lion are depicted, or fish and dolphins.