A pair of George III Salts, circa 1790
A pair of George III Old Sheffield Plate salts of navette shape with Bristol blue glass liners.
The base of one salt is stamped with the numeral 1.
The soldered joints are considered a hallmark of Old Sheffield Plate, as the individual component parts were made from pre-plated metal sheet or wire rather than the entire item being constructed in base metal and plated afterwards. The silver has the slightly bluish patina or lustre expected of OSP, and the ‘bleeding’ of the copper base is also characteristic of this early method of plating.
These eminently usable salts look marvellous on a mahogany dining table.
Condition: Good – no damage or restoration, just expected wear and minor scuffs. One glass liner is of a slightly darker shade of blue.
Dimensions: Length 9 cm; Height 5.5 cm
Old Sheffield Plate: A History of the 18th Century Plated Trade, Gordon Crosskey (Treffry Publishing, 2013).