Carrs of Sheffield Sterling Silver 12-Place Canteen (124 Pieces)

18266: Carrs of Sheffield Sterling Silver 12-Place Canteen (124 Pieces)
English, late 20th century
Height: 16cm, width 49cm, depth 32.5cm

This comprehensive canteen of sterling silver cutlery is a fine example of traditional English flatware, comprising one hundred and twenty-four pieces by the Sheffield firm of Carrs. Complete for twelve places and cased in its original mahogany box, the service is a well-appointed expression of a long-established silversmithing tradition.

Executed in the Old English 'Rat Tail' pattern, the flatware has plain handled of gently swelling outline and rounded terminals, each bowl and set of tines reinforced at the back by the slender tapering rib from which the pattern takes its name. The service comprises table knives, dessert knives, table forks, dessert forks, fish knives, tablespoons, dessert spoons and teaspoons, together with serving pieces. The forks and spoons are of solid sterling throughout, while the knives have loaded sterling handles fitted with stainless steel blades marked "Carrs Sheffield England". Each piece carries a full set of hallmarks: the maker's mark RC, the Tudor rose of the Sheffield assay office, the lion passant for sterling standard, and a date letter.

The Old English form was established in English silver by the middle of the 18th century and has remained in continuous production ever since, its restraint lending itself equally to Georgian dining rooms and to later interpretations. The rat tail, originally a structural reinforcement on 17th-century spoons, was reintroduced as an ornamental device and is now among the most recognisable features of English flatware design. Carrs of Sheffield, founded in 1977, produces sterling flatware, holloware and giftware in both historic and modern patterns, maintaining the city's association with silver manufacture that dates back to the 18th century.

The canteen itself is of rectangular form in mahogany, with a hinged cover, moulded edges and shaped bracket feet. Its interior is lined in dark blue velvet and fitted with tiered slotted trays, the knives secured beneath the lid and the remaining pieces arranged in the drawers below. Substantial and in complete order, the service is as practical for formal use as it is decorative in a traditional English setting.
$36,000