179 piece Boxed Silver King's Pattern Canteen, 1895
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<p>Boxed 179 piece Canteen – King’s Pattern (12 place settings) - Hallmark: London 1895 by Charles Boyton – Weight: 8950 grams (287.8 tr.oz.) - Ref. No.: RP/1766</p>
The Service
We are offering for sale an excellent late Victorian silver 12 place settings canteen in Kings Pattern. The service provides for 10 pieces per 12 place settings with 8 table spoons that can be used for a soup course if required and a great assortment of ancillary pieces.
The service contains a mouth watering combination of pieces, many of which are not found in a standard canteen. In addition to the standard dining items are the fish eaters (superior one piece type), fruit or dessert eaters with lovely carved mother-of-pearl handles and 6 egg spoons. The 8 napkin rings are simply stunning with a good solid feel in the hand and a beautiful pierced design. Salt pots are rarely encountered within a service and the four large cauldron type that are supplied have a gilt (gold-wash) interior to protect silver from the corrosive effects of salt.
There are a wealth of serving items with the usual large pieces including a splendid pair of 12" long basting spoons and a good assortment of smaller pieces including jam, butter, sugar and pickle servers (n.b. the King's pattern pickle fork is not original to the service).
The canteen has an especially pleasing array of dessert items: in addition to the fruit eaters mentioned above are the four pairs of solid silver nut crackers (a great rarity) and the grape scissors for trimming grapes from the vine at the conclusion of a meal.
This is a straight service with all the silver flatware pieces being original to the box (apart from one pickle fork mentioned above and two of the table spoons). All the spoons and forks were hand-wrought in the traditional manner in one of London’s premier workshops. Each piece bears an engraved crest to the front terminal.
The bone handles knives are later replacements because the original antique knives would have been fitted with carbon steel blades and will have discoloured/rusted. These knives are fitted with stainless steel blades and date from circa 1930. We could supply 24 silver handled knives if preferred for an additional charge.
King's Pattern
King's Pattern is the most well known and popular decorative patterns. It was based on an 18th century French design and became fashionable amongst the wealthy in the early years of the 19th Century. The design encompasses a shell to both sides of the handle terminal and reverse of the bowl, scrolls down the handle shaft with a honeysuckle motif to the centre. The double-struck nature of the pattern (i.e. pattern on both sides) ensures that a good gauge of silver was used in manufacture and therefore the majority of London-made pieces in this pattern have a hefty feel in the hand. The best quality King's Pattern was made in London, where it was hand-wrought and has a high relief to the decoration. Machine made King's Pattern from Sheffield is lower in relief and generally has a less interesting appearance and lighter weight.
Components
This 179-piece service consists of the following:
Top tray:
|
12 Table/dinner Forks |
12 Dessert/cheese Knives (bone) |
|
12 Table/dinner Forks |
3 Cheese Knives (bone) |
|
12 Table/dinner Knives (bone) |
6 piece Carving Set (bone) |
Tray 2:
|
12 Fish Knives |
12 Fruit Knives (Mother of Pearl Handles) |
|
12 Fish Forks |
12 Fruit Forks (Mother of Pearl Handles) |
|
Pair Fish Servers |
|
Tray3:
|
12 Dessert Spoons |
4 Salt Spoons |
2 Pickle Forks |
|
12 Teaspoons |
4 Nutcrackers |
Grape Scissors |
|
Mustard Spoon |
2 Jam Spoons |
8 Napkin Rings |
|
6 Egg Spoons |
Butter Knife |
|
Base of Box:
|
Sugar Tongs |
4 Salt Pots |
|
Sugar Sifter Spoon |
Soup Ladle |
|
2 Sauce Ladles |
2 Basting Spoons |
|
8 Table Spoons |
(plus an empty space for extra pieces, napkins etc) |
Total weight of weighable silver 8950 grams (287.8 troy ounces). Additional to this weight are the 24 Mother of Pearl Handled fruit eaters with silver blades/tines and the 33 bone handled items.
Optional Extras
We have a huge range of King’s Pattern in stock and will be happy to quote for any additional pieces that may be required to suit your needs. We can also supply 24 King’s Pattern knives (12 table & 12 dessert) should you prefer this arrangement.
Condition
Excellent polished condition. Very crisp decoration. Full & equal length fork tines and unworn spoon bowls.
Presentation
This canteen is offered in its original oak box with brass corner strengtheners and carrying handles. The box is lined with blue baize and each piece has its own slot. Set in to the top of the chest is a brass plate bearing the name (Marcus Prince of Woodcroft, Leek) and crest of the original owner – all the flatware items are engraved with this same crest.
As with all the canteens available from our web-site, we are happy to send a sample place setting for approval, on receipt of a fully refundable surety payment, prior to purchasing this canteen.
