Essex Jewelry and Antiques
Antique 1800 English Georgian Sterling Silver Covered Chaffing Dish w/ Burner
Regular price
$9,360.00
Presented is a wonderful quality English sterling silver chafing dish or covered vegetable dish. The round dish and base have threaded decoration on the edges. The dish is engraved on the interior with a crest of a peacock. The burner is engraved with a crest of an elephant beneath a crown surrounded by the motto of the Order of the Garter, “Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense” (French for “Shame upon him who thinks evil of it”).
The dish and the removable cover are hallmarked with the lion passant for sterling silver, the leopard’s head crowned for London, the date letter “E” for 1800, George III’s head, and a maker’s mark of RC for Richard Cooke. The removable handle is hallmarked with the lion passant for sterling silver, George III’s head, and a maker’s mark of IC over WR for Joseph Cradock and William K. Reid. The burner is hallmarked with the lion passant for sterling silver, the leopard’s head crowned for London, the date letter “k” for 1784, George III’s head incuse, and the maker’s mark WP for William Plummer. The base is hallmarked with the lion passant.
It is quite probable that the handle is original to the piece even though it has a different set of hallmarks. It was not uncommon during the Georgian period for a silversmith to contract out certain parts of a piece such as handles to be made by another silversmith. The base is almost certainly original. It is impossible to prove one way or the other since it only has the lion passant hallmark. However, the burner is clearly not original because it was made 16 years before the rest of the dish. Nevertheless, it is a good, in fact nearly perfect, fit and appears to be in great, working order.
The condition of all parts is excellent. The dish has some surface wear and utensil marks on the interior, but there are no dents, no dings, no splits, no breaks, and no repairs.
The dish measures 10 7/8 inches in diameter and 8 1/2 inches tall.
The weight is an impressive 2470 grams or 86.5 ounces.