Antique Sheffield Silver Plate
Five Piece Gourd Shape
COFFEE & TEA SERVICE
From a Connecticut Estate Auction comes this Fantastic Antique FIVE PIECE GOURD SHAPED SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND COFFEE & TEA SERVICE.
This was made for and retailed by the Montreal Jeweler Z. Auerbach & Co. and is by far the most ornate set I’ve ever had to sell. All of the lidded pieces have gourd flower and foliate finials (all lids have intact hinges and work fine)
with ribbed and hand chased bodies
and acanthus leaf handles, with insulators to prevent the handles from becoming overly warm. Included is a 10 ½” tall Coffee Pot and a 13 ¾” tall tilting hot water pitcher on a paw footed frame
a 7” tall (12 ½” handle-to-spout) teapot, a one pint creamer and matching covered sugar.
Each piece is marked on the bottom Z.A Co., Made In Sheffield England for Z. Auberbach & Co. and a model number.
Additionally, a couple of the pieces have the Sheffield marks of what I believe to be two Birmingham, England makers, William Hipwood and William Ryland & Sons who formed their respective businesses in the early 1800’s. I could be wrong about the interpretation of the marks and don’t have an explanation of why different pieces in the same set would have been made by different makers, but I do know that when silversmiths were making items for others and weren’t supposed to put their own names on their goods, they often snuck their mark in on the bottom as is the case with a couple of these pieces.
When I purchased the set, it came on a huge and gorgeous butler’s tray which was made by Barker Ellis (or Ellis Barker). Although the pieces obviously fit beautifully on the tray, it has a different design and am therefore listing it next.
This is in extraordinary condition with no dents and no loss to the plating that I can see. Part of the reason for this is that these are all heavyweight pieces, weighing a combined 12+ pounds. All of my silver has been lightly polished for its photo shoot but can always benefit from additional polishing. Please see my other auctions for an eclectic selection of other vintage and antique items.
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