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A plate warmer

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Author	Topic: A plate warmer
ahwt Posts: 2377 Registered: Mar 2003	posted 08-21-2008 11:28 PM Above is an Old Sheffield Plate dish warmer with ivory handles and feet. The warmer is in two pieces; a base with ivory feet and handles and a plate holder that lies flat on the base. The exposed areas of both pieces are covered in silver and the rest have a tinned surface. The edges of the base and the insert are covered in a u-shaped band of silver that hides the copper layer. In practice hot water would be poured into the base and I assume this would keep dishes warm for at least a short time period even in the cold English winters. A small hole at the rim of the base allows water to be poured out and with a tinned surface little other cleaning would be necessary on the interior. The mark below (a single sunburst) I think belongs to Matthew Boulton, although the double sunburst is normally associated with this maker. I brought the warmer simply because I love the look of Old Sheffield Plate. Where I live plate warmers are seldom, if ever needed, but this plate warmer does make an excellent riser for flowers and that provides a great reason to make use of it. IP: Logged
Polly Posts: 1971 Registered: Nov 2004	posted 08-22-2008 12:38 AM Perhaps you could use it as a plate cooler. IP: Logged
Clive E Taylor Posts: 450 Registered: Jul 2000	posted 08-22-2008 04:34 AM The deep horizontal flange on the base section rather baffled me. Why so large? I toyed with the idea of alternative items being put on it, small dishes perhaps. Then it dawned on me. Carrying the piece around with very hot water in it would be hazardous without this flange to prevent scalding water from slopping around and escaping. Our forefathers were a practical lot! Nice piece IP: Logged
ahwt Posts: 2377 Registered: Mar 2003	posted 08-22-2008 08:04 AM Another good thought of the maker was putting tin on the hidden areas. I suspect it was less expensive than silver, but it also had the added benefit that it did not need to be polished. It often seems to me that the makers of this silver form were just as skilled in every way as smiths who worked with solid silver, but the actual craft persons that made the piece are now mostly nameless. The patina that this silver acquires is just wonderful. Putting ice water in it sounds like a good idea. Next time we have a grand party we might try that for the salad plates. IP: Logged
swarter Moderator Posts: 2920 Registered: May 2003	posted 08-22-2008 12:34 PM quote: Originally posted by ahwt: It often seems to me that the makers of this silver form were just as skilled in every way as smiths who worked with solid silver, but the actual craftpersons that made the piece are now mostly nameless. A past thread (Identifying and Authenticating Old Sheffield Plate (fused plate)) that dealt in part with construction techniques (in which AHWT participated) may illustrate this point - in some ways, even additional skill may have been required. IP: Logged

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