Victorian Sterling Silver Leaf Dish, Mappin & Webb, Sheffield, 1893

  

Here we have an attractive late Victorian Sterling Silver Leaf Dish. The dish is shaped as a leaf, stands on three ball feet and has a finger ring handle rather like a chamberstick. There are no initials or personalisation of any kind. This was probably originally designed as a butter dish, although these are more usually in the form of a scallop shell. It works equally well for sauces / condiments at the dining table, as a trinket dish on a dressing table, for small items of stationery on a desk or whatever your imagination suggests!

The dish was made in Sheffield by world famous silversmiths Mappin & Webb and dates to 1893. One of the best known names in English silverware, the firm was originally founded in 1810 by Joseph Mappin Snr.

In 1859 the company split into two parts which would become Mappin Brothers and Mappin & Webb. They were reunited when Mappin & Webb bought Mappin Brothers in 1902. The firm remained in the Mappin family until it was merged with Walker & Hall and Elkington & Co to form British Silverware in 1963. Condition is very good, with no dings or dents and just the superficial surface wear that you would expect after over 130 years of good service.

Please make sure to view all the photographs as these form part of the description. The dish is 12cm / 4.7ins from rim to handle, 10.9cm / 4.3ins across and 5cm / 1.9ins high to the top of the handle.

It weighs in at a very respectable 68g / 2.4oz of solid Sterling Silver. The hallmarks, on the underside of the dish, are nice and clear to read. They show the lion passant for Sterling Silver, the crown assay mark for Sheffield, the date letter a for 1893 and the M & W makers' mark for Mappin & Webb. It also has the retail stamp for Mappin & Webb below the hallmarks.