Half-canteen of Devonshire Pattern Flatware

The Service

We are offering for sale a superb Victorian silver 6 place settings canteen in the very rare Devonshire Pattern. The service provides for 5 pieces per 6 place settings - totalling 30 pieces in all.

All the spoons and forks were hand-wrought in the traditional manner by London’s premier flatware specialist – George Adams (GA) of Chawner & Company. Although all pieces (except the teaspoons with GA mark) actually bear the maker’s mark “ISH” crowned for Hunt & Roskell. This company were the most important silver retailers in the mid/late 19^th century and the crown within the maker’s mark denoted “by Royal Appointment” to Queen Victoria. Chawner & Company supplied this important retailer with many flatware services, although Hunt & Roskell often used their own stamp.

Each piece bears an engraved crest of a stag to the front terminal. This stag is most likely the buck that is featured in the Cavendish family coat-of-arms and so the service is likely to originate from a branch of the Cavendish family.

Devonshire Pattern

Devonshire Pattern is a rare and beautiful flatware pattern with scrolls along both edges of the double-struck handle. It was designed in the second quarter of the 19th century and named in honour of the famous Duke of Devonshire. The peerage title of Devonshire was given to the Cavendish family in 1618. The ancestral seat continues to be Chatsworth House in Derbyshire.

Components

This 30-piece service consists of the following:

Total weight of weighable silver 2290 grams (73.6 troy ounces).

Condition

Excellent original condition with crisp decoration, full length tines and unworn spoon bowls. The service looks to have been very rarely used..

Presentation

This canteen is offered loose, however we can supply anti-tarnish cutlery rolls on request.

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.