What is a cayenne spoon?

A long-handled condiment spoon, named for the spice it served. It sits in the same family as mustard spoons, condiment shovels and spades. Spoons and ladles of this sort make up roughly one in seven of the listings, sometimes on their own and sometimes as the fitting that came with a pot.

Which assay towns show up most?

Birmingham and London are named in equal measure and lead the field, with Sheffield, Chester and Glasgow recurring. Provincial marks are the exception. Exeter, Newcastle and Arbroath each appear once, along with one piece described only as Scottish Provincial.

How old are these pieces?

The dated listings run from 1750 to 1960. Victorian is the largest single group, followed by a broad early-to-mid 20th-century band and then Georgian. Many entries carry a period label rather than an assay year, so you'll see '19th Century', 'Regency' or 'Georgian' standing in for a date. Some hallmarked work reaches into the 1960s. The earliest single dates in the listings are a 1738 pair of salts and a 1759 pair of butter shells.

Are non-British condiments common?

No. English sterling dominates, and the plated stream is English too. Continental, French .950, Norwegian enamel, Dutch .833, German, Spanish, Japanese Meiji and Anglo-Indian Kutch pieces each surface only once or twice.

Why do salts and pepper pots have glass liners?

Salt and mustard corrode silver, so a glass or gilt insert was fitted to keep the contents off the metal. Pierced pots need one to hold anything at all. Coloured liners are a quiet sub-theme in the listings: cobalt, cranberry, ruby, amethyst and plain blue, with cut glass named in its own set of titles.

What are silver bottle labels doing in this category?

They named the sauce in the bottle. Two 18th-century examples appear in the listings, one reading 'Soy' and one 'Harvey Sauce'. It's a form that turns up only once in a blue moon under this heading.

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Antique Silver Condiments

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Small silver and plated wares for the table - mustard pots, pepper pots, open salts, cruet frames and the spoons that go with them - made to hold the seasonings at each place setting.