Silver dishes for serving foodstuffs have existed for several millennia but became particularly fashionable in mid to late eighteenth century England both for practical purposes and as a decorative way to show one’s wealth and importance. Silver dishes were placed on the table and were generally covered to keep the food warm, and these are commonly called entree dishes.
Uncovered dishes were used on the table as well and today they are often called second course dishes. Both entree dishes and second course dishes were made in pairs or sets of four but occasionally made in larger numbers. They were made in a variety of shapes the most usual being rectangular, oval, or round. Flat dishes normally in an oval shape were made in graduated sizes and were generally used for cuts of meat (both hot and cold). These are usually called meat dishes or meat platters. The larger sizes were traditionally used to serve cuts of meat of large animals as well as fish and the smaller sizes for game such as pheasant or guinea fowl but, there were no hard and fast rules in their usage. As with most eighteenth and nineteenth century silver they were often engraved with the coat of arms or crests of important owners.
At William Walter Antiques we have a fine array of entree and serving dishes for sale by famous silversmiths and for important families including at this present time The Rothschilds, Prime Minister George Hamilton-Gordon ( Haddo House)and The Maharaja of Baroda amongst others
