1900 Sterling Silver & Mother-of-Pearl Carving Set - 3 pcs

Details

Description

hree-Piece Heirloom Carving Set — Knife, Fork & Sharpener — American Belle Époque, c. 1900

Pulled from an old family … Read more hree-Piece Heirloom Carving Set — Knife, Fork & Sharpener — American Belle Époque, c. 1900

Pulled from an old family estate on Nantucket during a late winter house sale, this three-piece carving set by Spaulding & Company of Syracuse arrived wrapped and nested in its original configuration — the kind of thing that surfaces once in a weekend and doesn't last until Sunday.
The set — a 14-inch carving knife, an 11-inch carving fork, and a matching 14-inch blade sharpener — is constructed in the manner that defined American luxury at the turn of the century: US steel blades, sterling silver ferrules fitted with unhurried precision, and handles of genuine mother-of-pearl that shift from cream to rose to soft green depending on how the light falls. Not simulated, not composite — real pearl, shaped and polished by hand, each piece subtly distinct in its iridescence the way only natural material can be.
Spaulding & Co. occupied a particular and underappreciated corner of the American Gilded Age. Working out of Syracuse at a moment when New York ateliers were setting the terms for decorative luxury, they produced silverwork of a quality that held its own against the great houses — Tiffany among them. This carving set is a convincing argument for that reputation. The ferrules are precisely seated. The tines of the fork are evenly spaced and true. The sharpener balances in the hand exactly as it should.
Almost certainly a wedding gift, circa 1900 — the era when sets like this were presented as implicit promises: that a household would be one worth sitting down in, that a table would be set with intention, that the roast would be carved with ceremony.
Condition is very good, with honest, gentle wear consistent with occasional use over many decades. The pearl handles show no cracks or losses. The silver ferrules carry a natural patina that polishes beautifully or can be left exactly as it is. The blades are sound.
At home on a linen-draped Thanksgiving table alongside a standing rib roast, or displayed in a silver chest with other collected American pieces. A gift for a new household that will outlast several more. See less