Silver Pieces - The Strange and Peculiar: Ivy

The Story Behind this Blog

Being from the South, Silver is a very big part of my life. It doesn't have anything to do with wealth. Although those with more money - old money, tend to have more of it. New money tend not to spend their money on Silver. They do not have the appreciation for the warmth of the metal, the beauty of the patina, the story it tells of the generations past who have used it. A true southern girl comes of age when she chooses her silver pattern, long before she chooses her mate. If she is smart, she chooses that of her mother, grandmother, or favorite great aunt who in their benevolence will pass their silver on to her. It is the pieces in those sets, the pieces on our tables, along with the pieces we find in the corners of the displays in antique stores that prompted me to start this blog. They are beautiful, they are odd, but what are they, and what in the hell do you do with them?

Showing posts with label Ivy. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Ivy by International

This gorgeous pattern, Ivy, was introduced by Gorham in 1911. There are trails of Ivy on the terminal and on the shoulder of the serving pieces.

Cold Meat Serving Fork - Medium Size (6 inches)
Medium Solid Cold Meat Serving Fork

Short Handled Pickle Fork (5 3/4)

Short Handle Pickle/olive Fork

Short Handled Olive Spoon (6 inches)

Pierced Bowl Short Handle Olive Spoon

Knife (9 3/4 inches)

Old French Hollow Knife With Bolster

Friday, December 21, 2012

Ivy by Gorham

The pattern Ivy was designed by George Wilkinson. Gorham introduced it in 1865.

Cocktail Spoon (5 1/8 inches)

Waffle Server (8 3/8 inches)

Solid Waffle Server

Sugar Tongs (5 3/4 inches)

Large Sugar Tongs

Friday, October 21, 2011

Cocktail Spoon

I am not quite sure how the Cocktail Spoon is used, but I did two quite distinct designs. The second design I found frequently used in stainless more modern patterns, although Ivy by Gorham dates back to 1865.

Richelieu by Tiffany (6 3/4 inches)
Pierced Cocktail Serving Spoon

Chrysanthemum by Tiffany (7 1/2 inches)

Sculpture by Reed and Barton (5 3/4 inches)

Cocktail Spoon

Ivy by Gorham (5 1/8 inches)
Cocktail Spoon

Friday, July 30, 2010

Croquette Servers

This is a rare but practical piece - a Croquette Server. In the Northeastern United States, Croquettes were used as a way to serve leftover ham. But in the South, typical Croquettes were Salmon Croquettes. I could find very few examples of this utensil, and the ones I found were from extremely old patterns. These three patterns all date back to the 1800's. Later on, one would see the term "Croquette server" lumped under the description of the Tomato Server or the Asparagus Server (non-hooded). No longer was it a unique utensil. It's duty merely assigned elsewhere.

Shown in Medallion by Gorham (8 3/4 inches)

Shown in New Queens by Durgin (6 5/8 inches)

Shown in Ivy by Gorham (9 3/8 inches)