How do you clean the mirrored base sections?

Use a dry or barely damp soft cloth on the glass. Liquid glass cleaners seep under the metal gallery rims and ruin the silvered backing of the mirror plate. If the metal frame is tarnished, apply polish to a cloth away from the piece. Rub it on carefully and buff it off before it dries into the crevices.

I inherited this large silver branching thing with lots of little hanging baskets but some of the arms feel a bit loose when you slot them in. Can that be fixed?

Silversmiths can easily fix loose branches. They gently reshape the sockets or sleeves so the arms grip tightly again. Don't try bending them yourself. The metal hardens over time and will snap if forced without annealing first.

Are the glass bowls supposed to match exactly?

Original sets left the workshop matching in pattern and colour. Small variations in size and weight happen because the glass was blown and cut by hand. If one bowl has a different cutting pattern or a thicker rim, it is usually a later replacement.

We have a really long dining table and want to put something in the middle but a tall silver thing blocks the view across the table. What other shapes work for big spaces?

A plateau solves this problem well. They lie flat against the wood and reflect the ceiling lights without getting in the way of conversation. Many have matching low urns or bowls that sit on the mirror. A low bronze or ceramic jardinière also works nicely if you prefer flowers to candles.

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Antique Centrepieces

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Antique centrepieces are large, decorative focal points placed in the middle of a dining table, ranging from branching silver epergnes that held sweetmeats to mirrored plateaus designed to reflect candlelight across a room.