Victorian Rococo Sterling Silver Salver

A monumental Victorian sterling silver salver, by Benjamin Smith II, London 1845. Highly decorative in the rococo style, circular outline with an elaborate pierced border of foliate scrolls, acanthus, classical and mythical figures in high relief. The centre profusely decorated with Rococo-style C-scrolls and floral blossoms, the middle crested with the Nicholson armorial crest and inscribed 'Constantia et Fortitudine' (through Perseverance and Bravery). The feet modelled as four masks in high relief representative of the four seasons: winter, spring, summer and autumn. Benjamin Smith III (1793 - 1850) Eldest Son of Benjamin Smith II, born 6 October 1793 at 12 Hockley row near Birmingham, apprenticed to his father as silversmith 6 July 1808. Free, 3 January 1821. First mark, in partnership with his father, entered 5 July 1816. Address: Camberwell. Second mark alone,15 July 1818. Moved to 12 Duke Street, Lincoln's Inn fields, and third mark, 24 July 1822. Fourth mark, 1 December 1837. Livery, April 1842. Died 1850. Weight 6075g, diameter 25.59 in.

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Armorial / Armourial - Bearing a coat of arms. Coats of arms came into general use by feudal lords and knights in in the 12th century, and by the 13th century, arms had spread beyond their initial battlefield use to become a flag or emblem for families in the higher social classes of Europe. They were inherited from one generation to the next. When a family crest is used on individual items of silver or furniture it is an indicator of the aristocratic standing of the family represented.

Armorials were also used to decorate mass produced ceramic souvenir ware by such companies as Goss, Carlton & Shelley, and in these cases the coats of arms displayed were of boroughs and cities.
Victorian Period - The Victorian period of furniture and decorative arts design covers the reign of Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1901. There was not one dominant style of furniture in the Victorian period. Designers used and modified many historical styles such as Gothic, Tudor, Elizabethan, English Rococo, Neoclassical and others, although use of some styles, such as English Rococo and Gothic tended to dominate the furniture manufacture of the period.

The Victorian period was preceded by the Regency and William IV periods, and followed by the Edwardian period, named for Edward VII (1841 – 1910) who was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India for the brief period from 1901 until his death in 1910.
Foliate - Decorated with leaves or leaf-like forms.
Acanthus - A stylized leaf motif, one of the primary decorative elements of classical Greek and Roman architecture, derived from the genus of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Mediterranean area. It is a common element in classical Greek and Roman design, and is often seen in Corinthian and Composite order columns and used as a decorative element in English, European and Australian furniture, particularly on the curve of a leg, and as decoration for a corbel.
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.
Salver - A plate or tray used for the formal offering of food, drink, letters or visiting cards, usually of silver plate, silver or silver-gilt. Large, heavy, oblong or oval silver salvers evolved into what we know as trays in the 18th century. Small, flat salvers are known as waiters.

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