GORGEOUS OLD SHEFFIELD PLATE (OSP) LIDDED SAUCE TUREEN, c. 1830's

Description

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ANTIQUES & MOORE!
This listing is for a stunning museum quality Old Sheffield Plate (OSP) lidded sauce tureen, c. 1830's. Made by Edward Hatfield & So. who operated on Porto Bella Place in Sheffield and made high quality items with exceptional workmanship and details.
The upper border on the base is ornately decorated and the edge of the lid is cut in a pattern that fits the shaped details of the bowl's rim. Everything about this tureen is exceptional from the ornately embossed decoration on the lid's finial to the four elaborately shaped feet.
Measured 6 3/4" high, 9" wide and 6" deep. Weighs 2.4 pounds
This tureen is in excellent Estate condition. There is one small convex no-harm dent on the inside bottom of the bowl. Our photo taken with the zoom lens makes this dent appear much larger than actual size. The silver has minimal surface wear from normal use. We have only gently polished this exceptional piece, however, the interior is bright and clean and we have no reason to expect that the exterior would not also polish beautifully as there are no signs of any damage to the silver plating.
Although "Old Sheffield Plate" is actually a plated silver, the process of making this silver is completely different than the electroplating process we know today. The process of "fusing" silver and copper was discovered in 1743 and the process was used to make "silver" items available to those who could not afford solid silver "Sterling" items being produced by silversmiths of the late 1700's and early 1800's.  This silver was produced by placing a thin sheet of Sterling silver over a thicker sheet of copper and then heating the two to fuse the layers together. The composite "block" was then hammered or rolled to make it thinner in order to work into the desired designs. This process was very labor intensive but produced a product more economical than using solid silver. The manufacture of Old Sheffield Plate was generally discontinued in 1840 with the discovery of the electroplating silver-plating process still used today.
One distinctive feature of Old Silver Plate is that the outer edge of the item often has a mellow glow with the exposure of the copper under layer. On pieces with both sides to be exposed, the copper layer was often "sandwiched" between two layers of Sterling. This beautiful old silver should be properly labeled "Old Sheffield Plate" and not confused with "Sheffield" silver plate. This category of silver is highly desired by collectors today and choice pieces are getting harder to find.
Antiques & Moore
have been in the Antiques business for over 30 years and try to describe our items as accurately as possible.  Although all sales are considered final, if there is an error in our description or a problem with our item, we will issue a full refund of the purchase price if contacted within 3 days after receipt of the item, however, please note that we cannot refund shipping charges.  We are happy to answer any questions and always appreciate your business!