Antique Silver Plate Gallery Tray, Oval Serving Tray

The oval form is drawn in with a serpentine edge and lifted on four little bun feet, and the pierced gallery carries an applied border of flower swags and ribbons in the Neoclassical taste. The silver has worn back over the years to show warm copper through the surface and around the pierced rim, the kind of surface that looks right at home in a room styled for age rather than polish. Two open handles make it easy to carry and easy to stage.

[d]Dimensions | 18.25 in W x 12.5 in D x 2.25 in H

[d]Surface | Worn silverplate with copper showing through across the well, rim, gallery, and feet

[d]Primary Material | Silverplate over copper

[d]Period | Late 19th to early 20th century

[d]Date | Circa 1890 to 1920

[d]Origin | Continental Europe

[d]Style | Neoclassical revival, Adam taste

[d]Also Known As | galleried salver

[d]Maker | No mark present

[d]Construction | Electroplate on a copper base, pierced and applied gallery, seamed bun feet

[d]Handles | Two pierced open carrying handles

[condition]

This tray shows heavy, honest wear to the plate and should be read as a decorative piece with a worn surface, not a bright polished one. The central well has extensive plate loss, with the silver worn thin to a soft gray over much of the surface and copper showing through in broad patches, most visibly across the center and toward one end. The pierced gallery shows copper coming through along most of the high points of the swag border and along the reeded top rim. All four bun feet show copper through the silver at the contact points. The applied swag decoration is intact all the way around with no losses to the castings and no breaks in the piercing. Both handles are secure. The tray sits flat and stable and is structurally sound throughout, with no splits, no dents of note, and no repairs I can find. The wear is cosmetic and consistent with long household use. If you want a mirror-bright tray this is not that piece; if you want the warm, coppery, lived-in look, the surface is the appeal.

#19