posted 10-10-2011 07:00 PM            

Table setting for wine & cheese this past weekend before going to see a show. The silver is mostly plate from what I call the functional side of my collection:

-Wallace Grand Baroque Compote
-Wm Rogers & Sons Triumph Bread Plate
-F B Rogers small footed salver
-Poole fooeted tray
-Hartford Sterling Company, Philadelphia, large plate handled tray on copper

The most interesting pieces on the table are:

-Horace Woodward plate candelabra c. 1884
-English silverplate grape scissors, marks rubbed possibly Edward and John Barnes, London, c. 1860 I think with an Egyptian Revival papyrus motif.
-Frank Whiting crystal and sterling wine coaster
-Minton plates with urns, medallions and swags 1912/13

posted 12-07-2011 07:04 AM            

I love using my silver for small cocktail or dessert parties (I avoid large dinner situations as my apartment is small) and all of my friends always appreciate when I bring out all of the "stuff"!

posted 12-07-2011 08:12 AM            

Love your pieces, but your photo display got my attention.

posted 12-08-2011 12:15 AM            

The flatware is my Ravinet service and the dinner plates are old Sheffield pieces by Matthew Boulton.

posted 12-08-2011 12:36 PM            

Here is a pic of my china- Minton circa 1912-1913.

Here are the English grape scissors- the papyrus motif suggests Egyptian Revival-

The marks are badly rubbed but could be Edward and John Barnes, London.

posted 12-08-2011 06:28 PM            

Allentown -- your table is spectacular. Love that you dodged the whole orange/brown color theme thing! My question has to do with those amazing plates: do you serve food directly on them? Or do you use them as an underplate/charger?

posted 12-08-2011 11:01 PM            

Thanks so much for the kind words! I really wanted to try a different color scheme and see how it worked out, and I found that the deep wine color I chose really made the settings pop.

As for the Boulton plates, honestly I only use them as first course under plates when I do use them. I fear any further wear to them, like the scratching you mention. I usually set a soup bowl or salad plate on it, then remove it when the dinner plates come out. Also, they are on the small side for today's china: the average dinner plate is like 10.5" now whereas the early services had dinner plates that were an inch smaller in diameter. The Boulton plates are 9.75", so a dinner plate on top would swallow them!

Kelly, seriously beautiful china. Minton is one of my all time favorites, and your pattern is stunning. I love the color combo they used on the service.

posted 12-09-2011 11:49 PM            

Thank you park for the Minton pattern name. I had only known it through its number.

posted 12-18-2011 05:19 PM            

Actually that is an old European formal style for flatware setting, especially with French flatware. There are several reasons, some of which make sense, others that are actually silly in retrospect.

I've found much old European flatware, especially French pieces, tend to have the majority of their decoration on the reverse of the piece, often running down the bowls and tines and hosts enjoyed showing that portion to guests out of pride. during the late 18th and early 19th centuries it was common custom to have your monograms on the reverse which also led to the trend of tines facing downward to show off ownership.

Another funny reason is when table etiquette was really just becoming an art form, it was thought that guests would feel less "threatened" by cutlery if tines were down, and sharp blades were turned inward toward the plates. Sort of like the silly story of cutting the corners off of the Queen's sandwiches to blunt any suggestion of "aggression" toward the English Crown.