Silver & Silver-plated items

Created shortly after the 1830 Revolution, when Louis Philippe ruled as ‘king of the French’, the ‘Service de la Chevalerie’ was a great example of romantic historicism.

Aesthetic Movement designers and artists were in thrall to the peacock and its extravagant plumage.

These two silver lots bear the mark of Henry George Murphy (1884-1939), whose Falcon Studio produced some of the finest English silver of the inter-war era.

New Zealand-born architect Keith Murray (1892-1981) began to make designs for Wedgwood on a commercial basis in 1933, joining a stable of designers that included Daisy Makeig-Jones and John Skeaping.

The sale at Bellmans (25% buyer’s premium) in Billingshurst, West Sussex on February 17 included a small silver gilt rococo-style cream jug of a type that remains something of an enigma.

A Georgian silver coffee pot that once formed part of the silver at the White House has emerged for sale in Gloucestershire.

A Renaissance gilt bronze medal made to mark the marriage of Queen Mary I (1516-58) and King Philip II (1527-98) sold for £15,500 at Sloane Street Auctions (26.5% buyer’s premium).

Since the 16th century, silversmiths in Germany have produced so-called Brautbecher (bridal beakers), a tradition that still exists today.

A rare example of 17th century Newcastle silver holloware sold for £7500 at Chiswick Auctions’ (26% buyer’s premium) latest specialist sale of Silver and Objects of Vertu.

Drinking vessels in the form of an owl were as decorative as they were practical.

A rarity offered on the opening day of the sale held by Mellors & Kirk (24% buyer’s premium) in Nottingham on February 11-12 was this George III silver pear shape powder flask.

Elaborate cruet frames from the pre-revolutionary period stand out in a traditional sale selection

An atypical entry to the March 4-9 sale at the Harwich antiquities specialist TimeLine is this gold medal struck in Philadelphia following the sinking of American steamship Casper, on December 23, 1928.

The collection of Selim Zilkha (1927-2022), founder of Mothercare, represented a stern test of the market for early English silver.

Credited with saying “an army marches on its stomach”, Napoleon Bonaparte knew the value of eating well, both at home and on the road.