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Elkington Plate Cutlery and Accessories Chest

A rare chest of Elkington plate cutlery and accessories, comprising: tray 1: 17 dinner knives, the steel blade marked 'Elkington & Co limited 73 Cheapside', 11 cheese knives, 12 dinner forks, 12 dessert forks, 12 tea spoons, 12 napking ring, 6 egg spoons, 4 salt labels, 2 knive rest, a bread fork, a butter fknife, a pickel fork, a mustard spoon and one napkin clip. Tray 2: 12 fish knives and forks, 6 dessert knives and forks with Mother-of-pearl handles, two pickle forks, a pair of fish servers, a berry spoon, a pair of nut crackers. Tray 3: 12 table spoons, 12 dessert spoons, 6 dessert forks with mother-of-pearl handles, 3 sauce ladles, one soup ladle, two gravy spoons, a pair of salad servers, a two bottle cruet stand, a four bottle cruet stand, a butter dish, a three compartments breakfast cruet by Christopher Dresser, a two bottle pickle frame. Tray 4: a soup tureen, a salad bowl, a pair of sauce boats, a tea pot, a sugar bowl, a cream ewer, a pair of candle sticks (corinthien column design, 10.24 in.), a smaller cream ewer, a toast rack, a sugar basket. Tray 5: three graduated meat domes (31, 35, 18.11 in.), a waiter (11.02 in.), a four bottle cruet stand and four cruet bottles, a biscuit box, a bread basket, a bread plate, a salver (14.17 in.), a double handled tray (25.59 in. x 15.75 in.), a fancy nautical napkin ring, a coffee pot, a pair of rectangular entree dishes. Monogrammed Gr, Elkington 1897. All contained in an oak and metal bound chest (33.86 in. x 23.62 in. x 24.41 in.)

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  • Ewer / Pitcher - A type of jug with a narrow neck bulbous body and wide spout, originally used for carrying and storing liquids such as water or wine. In medieval times they were the source of water to wash ones hands during and after a meal. later the shape was used for vessels in silver, gold, glass and ceramics.

    In Victorian times they were made in ceramics and occasionally glass with a matching basin, and sometimes other accessories such as a soap holder or toothbrush holder. Their purpose was to provide facilities for personal washing In the early 19th century were often enclosed in purpose built stands, and later resided on a washstand..

    Sometimes the words "ewer" and "pitcher" are used interchangably, but a pitcher is generally considered to be a jug, and would have a wide mouth, and a gently tapering body.
  • Marrow Spoon - A spoon with a long handle and a narrow scoop shaped bowl, used to scoop and eat marrow from the hollow centre of roasted bones. Some marrow scoops are double ended with a different shaped bowl at each end.
  • Oak - Native to Europe and England, oak has been used for joinery, furniture and building since the beginning of the medieval civilisation. It is a pale yellow in colour when freshly cut and darkens with age to a mid brown colour.

    Oak as a furniture timber was superceded by walnut in the 17th century, and in the 18th century by mahogany,

    Semi-fossilised bog oak is black in colour, and is found in peat bogs where the trees have fallen and been preserved from decay by the bog. It is used for jewellery and small carved trinkets.

    Pollard oak is taken from an oak that has been regularly pollarded, that is the upper branches have been removed at the top of the trunk, result that new branches would appear, and over time the top would become ball-like. . When harvested and sawn, the timber displays a continuous surface of knotty circles. The timber was scarce and expensive and was used in more expensive pieces of furniture in the Regency and Victorian periods.
  • Mother-Of-Pearl - Mother-of-pearl, technical name "nacre", is the inner layer of a sea shell. The iridescent colours and strength of this material were widely used in the nineteenth century as an inlay in jewellery, furniture, (especially papier mache furniture) and musical instruments.

    In the early 1900s it was used to make pearl buttons. Mother-of-pearl is a soft material that is easily cut or engraved.

    Nowadays it is a by-product of the oyster, freshwater pearl mussel and abalone industries.
  • Bread Basket - Bread baskets were commonly used from the 17th to the 19th centuries in Europe and America as a serving piece at formal meals. In the early 17th century, bread baskets were made of wood, pewter and later silver as it was an expensive and prestigious material and demonstrated off the host’s wealth and status.

    These bread baskets were usually oval or circular in shape, and were typically decorated with intricate engravings, embossing, and other decorative details. Some were plain and simple, while others were quite ornate, featuring raised scrollwork, beading, or other decorative motifs. Those made in the early 17th century tend to have two handles but surviving examples are rare. From the mid 1770s they usually have a central swing handle. The handles were typically ornate and often curved or scrolled. The shape and size of these baskets varies; some are large, meant to hold multiple loaves, others are more compact and meant for one loaf. By the 18th century, most bread baskets were made of silver.

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A rare chest of Elkington plate cutlery and accessories,…