There has been a recent dispersal of many fine collections of old silver plate, much of which consisted of glorious examples of periods which could and would only be used on state occasion at the dinner table. However much the possessor of old plate may love his family heirlooms, there is a hesitancy in actually bringing into use even in rare circumstances old plate of the Stuart period. Even though he may not be a connoisseur he might prefer some of his second-best silver for common use especially in days when people of high and low degree have often come very near to dining with Duke Humphry. It would therefore seem somewhat of a hollow mockery to bring out of the silver closet fine Queen Anne or early Georgian services with provender as bare almost as the larder of the Count Federigo degli Alberighi in Tennyson's "Falcon," in which story is told how that "noble bird" came to be served up as a meal for the lady Giovanna. Hence silver plate that is not used has been deemed a luxury to be sold under the hammer, and another race of owners will treasure old silver though it may not have come down from their ancestors.
The Soup Tureen.—That prologue to the banquet heralded and brought in with ceremony, from whose uncovered urn issues forth the incense to the feast, from which savoury and warming nectar, compounded of rare ingredients and rich essences, is dealt forth to titillate the palate, that forerunner of entrées and roasts, of baked meats and dainty sweets, marks the status of the chef—it is at this point that one determines whether or not he is a true cordon bleu. Hence the trappings of so great a caldron must fit the occasion. The soup tureen that is insignificant is a cruse that promiseth no oil. It betokeneth poverty of invention and it might better be an earthern crock which fortune might mayhap endow with golden contents.
Perhaps the silversmiths have imagined all this or carried on a train of thought resulting in producing soup tureens of fine design and imposing character, and Sheffield has followed with her replicas and as the needle follows the pole.
We must look to Paul Lamerie, to Peter Archambo in the early period and Paul Storr at the end of the century for silver prototypes.
OLD SHEFFIELD PLATED SOUP TUREEN.
With cover and tray. Tureen urn-shaped, the rim raised at two points, with lion masks and rings. Cover surmounted by strap handle. Date 1805. Tureen 9⅝ in. high. Cover 11 in. diameter. Tray 12¾ in. by 16 in.
(At the Public Museum, Sheffield.)
(Reproduced by permission of the Corporation of Sheffield.)
The Sheffield plated Soup Tureen illustrated (p. [221]) with tray is typical of the fine stability of design which came as an inheritance from the Queen Anne period, soberness and reticence without that added touch of classic austerity which brought Greece and Rome to the English dinner table, and scattered the gods of Olympus throughout Staffordshire. The rim of the vessel is raised at two points, as is the tray. The godroon ornament is quietly sufficient to sustain the dignity of the design. The lion and mask handles complete a fine piece of restraint in composition. When this made its appearance at table depend upon it it was followed by sound cuisine, and the port of mine host was well chosen and from the right bin.