1770's George III Old Sheffield plate large pear-shaped coffeepot
Large George III Old Sheffield silver plate coffee pot with domed hinged lid over a pear shaped baluster body that is resting on a circular domed spreading foot. The lid and the foot are trimmed with beautiful applied borders of flowers and scrolling foliage in Rococo style. The rocaille swan neck spout is decorated with an applied acanthus leaf; the double C scroll handle is made of ebony wood.
Made in Sheffield, c 1770’s.
1076 g
26 cm tall
22 cm spout to handle
14 cm across at widest point
Great antique condition. Copper bleeding commensurate with age, mostly around the spout; small indent and few dings to lower part of body.
Large George III Old Sheffield silver plate coffee pot with domed hinged lid over a pear shaped baluster body that is resting on a circular domed spreading foot. The lid and the foot are trimmed with beautiful applied borders of flowers and scrolling foliage in Rococo style. The rocaille swan neck spout is decorated with an applied acanthus leaf; the double C scroll handle is made of ebony wood.
Made in Sheffield, c 1770’s.
1076 g
26 cm tall
22 cm spout to handle
14 cm across at widest point
Great antique condition. Copper bleeding commensurate with age, mostly around the spout; small indent and few dings to lower part of body.
Large George III Old Sheffield silver plate coffee pot with domed hinged lid over a pear shaped baluster body that is resting on a circular domed spreading foot. The lid and the foot are trimmed with beautiful applied borders of flowers and scrolling foliage in Rococo style. The rocaille swan neck spout is decorated with an applied acanthus leaf; the double C scroll handle is made of ebony wood.
Made in Sheffield, c 1770’s.
1076 g
26 cm tall
22 cm spout to handle
14 cm across at widest point
Great antique condition. Copper bleeding commensurate with age, mostly around the spout; small indent and few dings to lower part of body.
Sheffield Plate, now known by collectors as "Old Sheffield Plate" was accidentally invented by Thomas Boulsover, of Sheffield's Cutlers Company, in 1743. While trying to repair the handle of a customer's silver knife, he heated it too much and the silver started to melt. When he examined the damaged handle, he noticed that the silver and copper had fused together very strongly. Experiments showed that the two metals behaved as one when he tried to reshape them, even though he could clearly see two different layers. Boulsover developed the technique of sandwiching an ingot of copper between two thin plates of silver, tightly binding it with wire and then heating it in a furnace. This was then milled into sheets from which objects were made.
The production of Sheffield Plate declined after 1840 when George Elkington invented electro silver plating which is why genuine Old Sheffield Plate items are so rare and highly regarded. Furthermore, electroplating tends to produce a "brilliant" surface with a hard colour – as it consists of pure rather than sterling silver and is usually deposited more thinly which causes it to lose silvering much quicker than Old Sheffield ware that still retains its beauty 250 years down the line.
