Archive for the ‘serving’ Category

Ice cream serving spoon, c.1900

Saturday, December 11th, 2021

I scream, you scream, we ALL scream for antique ice cream serving spoons with inventive repairs!

This heavy metal ice cream serving spoon with wooden handle was given to me nearly 10 years ago by my friend Bibiana. It was most likely made in the US, circa 1900, and measures 14 inches long.

Rather than throw the spoon away after the wood handle split, it was repaired by simply wrapping wire around the broken. Presto! Within just a few minutes of twisting wire, the spoon was able to scoop ice cream again. 

 

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Bone fork with silver repair, c.1880

Sunday, July 18th, 2021

This bone salad serving set, which measures 10.5 inches long, appears to have been made in France, c.1880. Long ago, one of the fork prongs broke off and was repaired by a silversmith, who added a wide band to help secure the break. As many antique bone salad servers were made with silver handles or embellishments, this silver repair seems appropriate.

Here’s a more upscale set of French salad servers with original ornate silver handles.

Photo courtesy of Catawiki

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Large blue & white transfer printed ladle, c.1830

Sunday, February 7th, 2021

Soup’s on! This blue & white transfer printed pearlware pottery ladle measures 12 inches long and has a 3.5 inch diameter bowl. It was most likely made in the Staffordshire region of England, around 1830.

Sadly, many ladles did not survive the years intact and this one is no exception. I only hope it did not snap in two while soup was being served. But luckily for the original owner (and me!), a clever tinker brought it back to life by adding 2 large rivets and wire around the break. As a true test to the tinker’s skill, the repair has remained secure 150+ years later.

Ladles such as mine were part of a set, including a covered soup tureen and under plate. This ladle appears to be “perfect”, but give it time.

Photo courtesy of Transferware Collectors Club

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Royal Crown Derby footed dish, c.1905

Sunday, February 10th, 2019

This porcelain serving dish was made in England by Royal Crown Derby in 1905. It is hand painted in the Imari palette of cobalt blue, iron red, and gilt. On the underside is a red printed mark ROYAL CROWN DERBY, ENGLAND with cypher and an incised mark DERBY, 7-04, dating it to 1905. It measures 10 inches by 7 inches and is 1.75 inches high.

Although two painted metal staples on top of one of the handles hint at what is hiding below deck, it isn’t until this pretty dish is flipped over that things gets more interesting. After this dish fell to the floor and shattered into 9 pieces, it was taken to a china mender, who made it whole again by drilling 68 tiny holes and adding 34 metal staples. Typically china menders charged per staple, so this repair job must have cost the owner a pretty penny.

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Victorian silver server, c.1850

Sunday, January 11th, 2015

This ornate sterling silver serving piece has a carved mother of pearl handle with an etched monogram. It was made during the Victorian period (1837-1901), most likely in England. Although I can not say for certain, its asymmetrical form suggests it to be a fish or jelly server. It measures 8.5 inches long.

At first glance you may wonder why this seemingly “perfect” server ended up in my collection of inventive repairs, but upon closer inspection, you can spot a subtle repair. The mother of pearl handle cracked in half at a fragile stress point and was reassembled using pins and a silver mount. Also, the neck has been replaced with two wires clumsily soldered to the blade. In my opinion, the pattern of the four pins on the front and the wonderfully shaped brace on the back only enhance the original design, adding a unique charm to this piece.

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Here’s a server with similar form, described as a fish server.

Photo courtesy of eBay

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Cut crystal compote, c.1900

Friday, June 7th, 2013

Sometime around 1920, an elegant 8″ tall crystal compote slipped out of the hands of a nervous hostess as she was serving stewed rhubarb to a dinner guest. The sudden drop to the floor not only embarrassed the hostess and stained the Persian carpet below, but also snapped the cherished heirloom in half. Luckily, her slightly annoyed but handy husband snatched up the broken diamond-cut decorated bowl and attached it to a recently discarded large wooden spool. Seeing that the marriage of crystal and wood needed further embellishment, he gilded the spool to help jazz it up. The now slightly less nervous hostess was able to enjoy the newly restored compote again, but from then on filled it only with butter mints…just to be safe.

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This quartet of compotes shows a variety of original glass bases; perhaps one of which looked like mine.

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Photo courtesy of Laurel Leaf Farm

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Miniature pearlware ladle, c.1840

Saturday, August 25th, 2012

English miniature soft paste pottery pearlware ladle from set of child’s dishes, measuring 3-3/4″ long and dating from the early to middle 1800s. The two broken halves are bound together by a criss cross of thin brass wire woven through 2 tiny holes on either side of the break. Small dabs of cement in each hole help secure the repair.

I pity the small child who briefly lost the use of their ladle during what might have been a fantasy feast. And I applaud the person who came to the rescue, making the two broken pieces whole again, thus allowing the imaginary dinner party to continue!

 

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