Catalog: Antiques: Decorative Art: Metals (281)

Lovely sterling silver berry spoon dating from the reign of Queen Victoria. The gilt bowl is finely and elegantly decorated with a repousse pattern featuring grapes, pomegranates and apples. Both sides of the handle are decorated with bright-cut floral engraving. Clearly hallmarked for Birmingham, 1870 with the sovereign's head and the maker's mark "FE" in conjoined circles.

Origin: Birmingham, England. Condition: excellent; no monograms or removals. Size: 8-5/8" long.

Lovely pair of sterling silver sugar tongs with opaque turquoise and white enamel decoration. The quality of these tongs is apparent from the ornate and elegant piercing of the tips. Stamped on the inside “Sterling 1212” and hallmarked by the H. H. Curtis Co. (North Attleboro, MA, 1891-1915).

Origin: America, circa 1900. Condition: excellent, no missing enamel, no monogram, faint lemony gilding. Size: 3-1/4” long.

Unusual Victorian copper ladies' button-up boot. The Victorians often placed these along their mantles for purely decorative purposes. Most examples are made of brass, but this piece is entirely copper. Another nice touch is the applied scalloped pattern along the front edge of the boot and the white brass buttons.

Origin: England or America, ca. 1880. Condition: excellent. Size: 5" tall.

A finely detailed cast bronze jewel box, the cover decorated with a scene of Don Quixote astride his horse followed by his loyal Sancho Panza on his donkey. The end panels feature bas relief images of Cervantes flanked by cherubs, and the back panel a bas relief of Don Quixote wearing an armored helmet. Cherubs and dolphins decorate the front. The interior is lined in a bright red velvet. The box retains its original key and the lock is in working order. Bronze boxes of this sort were often purchased as souvenirs of the European "Grand Tour". Often, they represent important architectural or artistic monuments or are related to great cultural figures such as Cervantes. The bottom is marked "Made In Spain" to accommodate British import regulations beginning in 1887.

Origin: Spain, ca. 1890. Size: 6-9/16" x 3-11/16" x 2-5/8". Condition: excellent.

Elegant sterling silver berry serving spoon with very high quality bright cut floral engraving. The matte-finished bowl is engraved with a rose motif while the handle has a variety of flowers and foliage. The reverse is marked "Sterling" and "J.S. MacDonald". The firm was in business in Baltimore, circa 1900. Excellent condition, no monogram. 8.75" long.

Nice Victorian brass ladies' lace-up boot. This example has holes drilled to represent the holes for laces. The Victorians often placed these along their mantles for purely decorative purposes.

Origin: England or America, ca. 1880. Condition: excellent, light scratching near the toe. Size: 4.5" tall.

Handsome Victorian covered brass box with a beaver finial. The beaver is cast in bronze and is shown chomping on a tree stump. The detail and workmanship on the finial is excellent. The box will polish very nicely, but we have left the original patina.

Circa 1890. Condition: excellent, a small ding at the bottom edge. Size: 5-3/4” tall; 2-7/8” diameter.

Outstanding Victorian figural picture frame in the form of a map of Australia! The metal is very heavy gauge and the coloring is white (I believe it is constructed of white brass with a yellow-tinted lacquer). The detail is superb, including outlines of rivers, the political boundaries (Western Australia, Northern Territory, South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria), and the locations of cities (Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane).

The reverse side is stamped "R. Golding/Rd. No. 30/Tasmania". The back has an easel which is removable for hanging on the wall with the attached hook.

Origin: Tasmania, Australia, late 19th century. Condition: excellent, with some wear to lacquer around edges. Size: 8" x 6-1/4".

A matching frame (missing the glass) is also available.

Outstanding Victorian silverplate napkin ring decorated in the Aesthetic or Japonesque taste. The surface is encrusted with decoration representing flying cranes, crysanthemums, fans, and bamboo. The plain surface of the fan was intended for a monogram, but the napkin ring was never engraved.

Origin: America, circa 1870. Condition: excellent, all original, sharp detail. Size: 1-9/16" diameter; 1-1/8" wide.

Outstanding sterling silver ice cream slice with the fabulous Art Nouveau "Poppy" pattern by Baker Manchester. Both the front and back are beautifully detailed. The blade is lightly matte gilt. During the Victorian era, ice cream was served in a loaf shape, and implements like this were used to slice off pieces for serving. The form often did "double duty" as a fish server. The back is stamped with the hallmark for the Baker Manchester Silver Co. (Providence, RI), a company famous for its ornate serving pieces.

Origin: America, circa 1900. Condition: excellent, sharp detail, no monogram. Size: 9" long. Weight: 54.75 grams.

A very nice sterling silver sardine fork by the Campbell-Metcalf Silver Company. Originally intended to serve sardines—a Victorian luxury food—the fork could now be used for various hors d’oeuvres, cheeses, etc. The design is clearly based on Scandinavian motifs that later showed up in the work of Georg Jensen and other European makers. In some ways it is similar to Jensen’s 1913 “Rose” pattern. Campbell-Metcalf was in business for only six years during the last decade of the 19th century. The back is hallmarked.

Origin: America, 1892-98. Condition: excellent, sharp detail, no monograms. Size: 5-7/8” long. Weight: 22.5 grams.

A rare sterling silver pickle fork in Towle’s 1887 “Pomona” pattern. The long handle is decorated with a cornucopia overflowing with peaches, pears and grapes amidst foliage. The handle twists before leading into the matte gild three-tined fork. This piece would have been used for pickled vegetables, but could now be used for a variety of foods. The long size is much more difficult to find than the shorter version. The back is stamped with Towle’s hallmark and the patent date.

Origin: America, ca. 1890. Condition: excellent, sharp detail, original gilding, period two-letter monogram. Size: 9” long. Weight: 28.0 grams.

Sterling silver berry spoon in Towle's 1884 "Arlington" pattern. This rare pattern featured a different repousse design on each piece of the service. The gilt spade-shaped bowl is engraved with climbing roses growing on a trellis. This decoration is especially interesting.

The pattern is named after Robert E. Lee's plantation, "Arlington". Union troops buried their dead in Mrs. Lee's rose garden as a spiteful act, and unwittingly created Arlington National Cemetary.

Origin: America, c. 1880s. Condition: excellent, gilding intact, no monogram. Size: 6-7/8" long.

Lovely sterling silver cream or sauce ladle in Towle's 1900 "Dubarry" pattern. The handle, decorated with a simple spray of roses at the tip, nicely complements the triangular gilt bowl. The reverse is marked with Towle's old mark and "925/1000".

Origin: America, circa 1900. Condition: excellent, no monogram. Size: 4-15/16" long.

Lovely sterling silver berry spoon in Towle's 1894 "Princess" pattern. The handle is heavily decorated with various floral motifs. The matte-gilt bowl is decorated with floral bright-cut engraving. The reverse is marked with Towle's old hallmark and the design patent date.

Origin: America, circa 1890. Condition: near mint, sharp detail, reverse is engraved "Osgood". Size: 7-5/8" long.

Lovely sterling silver berry or casserole spoon in Towle's 1890 "Albany" pattern. Very Victorian in its styling, the decoration makes good use of delicate flowers, swirling foliage, and a beautifully double-scalloped and matte gilt bowl. The back is marked with Towle's hallmark.

Origin: America, circa 1890s. Condition: excellent, sharp detail, period monogram "H"(?). Size: 9-1/8" long.

A gorgeous boxed set of 12 sterling silver demitasse spoons in the “Wild Rose” variation of the “Vine” pattern. The spoons have gilt bowls in the elongated shape often seen in Tiffany demitasse spoons. The bowls enhanced with soft matte gilding. Each is stamped with the Tiffany mark used 1873-1891. The spoons are presented in their original fitted box lined in “Tiffany blue” silk and embossed with the company’s logo. The box includes Tiffany’s original Paris location, dating it to the period 1878-1910

The “Vine” pattern was most likely created by Edward C. Moore, Tiffany’s chief designer, and was introduced in 1872. The design included a variety of floral and vegetable elements including wild roses tomatoes, gourds, irises, wheat sheaves, etc. They with different appearances, the designs were intended to be used together—a reference to the Japanese decorative concept of mismatching that became popular in Europe and America after Japan was opened to trade in the 1850s. Few pieces in the pattern were made after the mid-1880s.

Origin: America, ca 1880. Condition: excellent, sharp detail, gilding intact; box's hinge side has been reinforced with archival bookbinding tape. Dimensions: spoons, 4” long. Weight: 132.8 grams.

Spectacular and rare sterling silver souvenir spoon by Tiffany & Co. The spoon commemorates Commodore George Dewey's 1898 victory at the Battle of Manila during the Spanish-American War. The handle is decorated with a bust of Dewey encircled by a laurel wreath. The wreath is tied with a ribbon which cascades down the stem of the spoon and bears the words "Manila May 1st 1898". The stem is further decorated with seaweed, four stars signifying Dewey's rank, and an anchor. The reverse of the handle is decorated with the laurel wreath and ribbon encircling the coat of arms of the state of Vermont and has Dewey's birth year. The stem is marked "Tiffany & Co. Sterling". All in all, this is one of the most spectacular souvenir spoons by Tiffany we've ever seen!

Origin: America, 1898. Condition: normal light wear, period 3-letter monogram on reverse of handle. Size: 5-7/8".