Antique Silver Frames
A hallmarked British silver surround on an easel back, made to stand a photograph on a mantelpiece, desk or dressing table.
Antique Silver Frames
Silver frames became a distinct article once photographic portraits turned into an ordinary domestic possession in the second half of the nineteenth century. Silversmiths had a new market for small easel-backed mounts, and made them in quantity as gifts and marriage presents well into the twentieth century.
The frame you are most likely to meet on Sellingantiques is a single-aperture, easel-backed silver frame of the Edwardian and George V years. Thin sheet silver, either plain or embossed and pierced with flowers, scrolls, ribbons, cherubs and Art Nouveau motifs, over a wooden back. Titles cite oak backs, blue velvet and leathered backs.
The dating runs from 1800 to 1960, but the mass sits in a forty-year band. The 1910s, Edwardian, 1920s and 1900s labels together carry over 1,400 listings, against 29 for the 1940s and 1960s. Where a title carries both a period word and a hallmark year, the assay year is the firmer figure. Birmingham and Chester are the assay offices named far more than any other.
Beyond the plain rectangle, several strands recur. Engine-turned and Art Deco frames, strongest from the 1920s on, often with guilloché enamel. Ribbon-and-bow and cast-crest frames. Art Nouveau frames with birds, dragonflies, rabbits, squirrels and pheasants. Then hearts, ovals, circles, doubles, folding and travelling frames, and crossovers with vesta cases, stamp cases, inkwells and magnifying glasses.
What Sets Them Apart
Size does most of the work. "Large" appears in 217 titles, and sampled frames climb through 8, 12, 13 and 14 inches to a 20-inch George V frame of 1915. Miniature, petite and travelling frames of a few centimetres sit at the other end.
After that, depth of decoration. Titles separate the plain surround and plain border from pierced, cast, embossed and figural work, and the figural frames with cherubs, angels, birds and animals cluster far higher in the sampled range. Added materials lift things further: silver-mounted tortoiseshell appears in 38 titles and sits at the very top, along with silver-and-enamel work.
A named hand pushes upward too, whether a maker's mark or a retailer's name struck on the back. Pairs and multiples follow the same logic, with matched pairs and large double frames sitting consistently above comparable singles.
Antique Silver Frames Retail Price Guide 2026
Typical UK retail prices for silver frames, calculated from the Sellingantiques database of over a million retail prices indexed since 2003. This retail price guide relies exclusively on Sellingantiques data; no external sources or auction records are used, so the figures do not describe the wider market.
William Comyns, Henry Matthews and Walker & Hall are the names that turn up from the most dealers on Sellingantiques, six apiece.
William Comyns·Henry Matthews·Walker & Hall·Mappin & Webb·William Hutton·James Deakin & Sons·Elkington & Co·Deakin & Francis·Baldwin & Marriott
The Antique Silver Frames Glossary
- Easel back
- The hinged strut on the reverse that lets the frame stand. Usually oak, sometimes covered in velvet or leather.
- Aperture
- The opening the photograph shows through, often quoted in inches as the frame's working size.
- Landscape / portrait
- Horizontal or upright format. Some frames stand either way and are listed as landscape/portrait.
- Engine turned
- Machine-cut repeating lines on the silver, a plain decorative finish typical of 1920s to 1940s frames.
- Repoussé
- Decoration raised from behind into the thin sheet silver, also listed as embossed. Pierced frames are cut through in fretwork so the backing shows behind.
- Guilloché enamel
- Translucent enamel laid over an engine-turned ground, seen on a small number of frames.
Antique Silver Frames: Frequently Asked Questions
How many silver frames come up each year?
About 220 reach the market on Sellingantiques in a year, listed by 88 different dealers. That makes it one of the broader-shouldered silver categories on the site.
The supply is spread across every strand, from miniature travelling frames to the large display pieces.
Which assay offices appear most often?
Birmingham leads with 126 titles, Chester follows with 75. London and Sheffield also appear.
Chester frames have become a recognisable sub-strand in their own right, named as such by dealers in the title.
What sizes do these frames run to?
From pocket and travelling frames of a few centimetres up to display pieces around 20 inches. The largest in the sample is a 20-inch George V frame of 1915.
Between those poles, 8, 12, 13 and 14-inch frames all turn up, and the word "large" carries 217 titles.
Are there any unusual shapes or novelty forms?
Hearts, ovals and circles all appear, along with double, triple and folding frames.
The crossovers are odder still: a vesta case with a photo frame, a stamp case, an inkwell, a desk tidy, a bookmark, a cocktail compact, a silver-framed magnifying glass and a miniature pole screen in silver.
Do foreign silver frames turn up here?
Only once in a blue moon. Single Italian, German, French, Belgian, Australian and Chinese-export examples appear across the whole sample.
The category is overwhelmingly British hallmarked silver.
Do any frames carry inscriptions?
A handful have mottoes worked into the silver. "Dinna Forget", "Rosemary For Remembrance", "Friendship is a Sheltering Tree" and "Peace Hath Her Victories" all appear.
A Shakespeare quotation and a Romeo and Juliet frame are also in the record.