Late 19th Century Victorian Silverplate Meat Skewer

Details

Description

Authentic Victorian-era silverplate meat skewer, made in England, designed for formal table carving during the late 19th century. This elegant … Read more Authentic Victorian-era silverplate meat skewer, made in England, designed for formal table carving during the late 19th century. This elegant and functional utensil was used to stabilize joints of meat during carving, allowing precise slicing at the dining table, a hallmark of Victorian dining ritual.

The skewer features a long, tapered blade with a faceted profile and a classic circular ring handle, offering both control and visual refinement. Its balanced proportions and understated design reflect the practical elegance of English Victorian tableware.

A wonderful addition for collectors of antique silverplate, English dining accessories, or historically accurate table settings.

Dimensions
Width: 0.75 inches
Depth: 0.2 inches
Height: 10 inches

Historical Context

In Victorian England, meat skewers existed but they were not used in quite the same casual, “street-food kebab” way we think of today. Their uses were tied to domestic cooking, butchery, and presentation of roasts rather than everyday eating. Here are the main contexts:

1. Kitchen Tools for Roasting and Trussing
Skewers (often metal) were used to:

Truss meat and poultry before roasting so that joints held their shape

Secure stuffing inside birds or game

Hold thin cuts or bacon strips onto larger joints for moisture (similar to modern barding)

These skewers could be brass, iron, steel, or silverplate in wealthier homes. They came in sets of various lengths and were cleaned and reused.

2. Carving and Serving Presentation
In grand dining settings, skewers were sometimes:

Inserted into large cuts of beef or lamb

Used with carving forks and knives to stabilize the roast at table

Used to indicate doneness or to identify different meats at a sideboard

Silverplate examples exist from makers in Sheffield and Birmingham, often decorative and part of carving sets.

3. As Part of Coal-Fired Spit Roasting
In kitchens with a spit (especially earlier in the 19th century) skewers could:

Secure meat to the spit

Adjust positioning so that multiple smaller items cooked at once

Sometimes be turned by clockwork roasting jacks, a very Victorian contrivance

By late Victorian years, enclosed ovens became more common, so spit use declined in middle-class homes.

4. Game and Hunting Culture
Skewers were used for:

Securing small birds or game such as quail or woodcock together in bunches for roasting

Hanging game in larders (small iron skewers or hooks could pierce the legs)

This reflected Victorian enthusiasm for sport hunting.

5. Very Occasional Table Skewers for “Larded” Dishes
Victorian cookery included “larding” and “collaring” techniques:

Larding involved threading fat strips through meat to keep it moist

Recipes by cooks like Mrs. Beeton mention skewers to hold shape until set

These were removed before serving, so not eaten from directly.

What They Were Not Commonly Used For

Victorians did not typically eat skewered grilled meats as a hand-held dish like modern kebabs. That culinary tradition was known through travel writing about the Ottoman Empire and Middle East but rarely practiced domestically. See less