Antique Silver Bow
Searching for an antique silver bow brings together delicate wearable ribbon motifs and functional vessels alongside items styled with a curved profile.
Antique Silver Bow
The phrase antique silver bow covers a diverse group of objects, spanning jewellery like diamond and paste lockets, brooches, and pendants formed into ribbon knots, alongside domestic items and vessels.
Buyers will encounter items ranging from Georgian and Victorian brooches set with paste, turquoise, and pearls to Edwardian silver photo frames and nineteenth century sugar tongs.
The selection also encompasses larger furniture forms and musical accessories, including mahogany cutlery boxes, bow-fronted tea caddies, barometers, and violin bows from the mid nineteenth century.
How they were made
Construction relies heavily on sterling silver, gold, and platinum worked through casting, piercing, and filigree techniques to create intricate ribbon shapes and structured frames.
Many items incorporate decorative stones and organic materials such as old cut paste glass, diamonds, agate, jasper, enamel, tortoiseshell, and mahogany.
Earlier domestic and decorative pieces utilise traditional silversmithing methods like chasing, engraving, and hand-hammering, particularly visible on Georgian sugar tongs and Victorian hollowware.
The material palette includes sterling silver, tortoiseshell, agate, jasper, enamel, and diamonds, applied across jewellery, frames, and furniture.
What varies in quality
Quality in these items is determined by the crispness of the casting and the precision of the hand-work, such as pierced silver mounts and chased floral motifs.
The grade and setting of incorporated materials, from fine old cut diamonds and natural pearls to decorative paste and polished agate, heavily influence the overall standard of the piece.
Structural integrity and the survival of original surface attributes, like the rich patina on mahogany boxes or the unpolished detail on silver photo frames, distinguish superior examples.
W.I.Broadway & Co·Josiah Williams & Co·John Walton·Dominique Peccatte·Henry Wilkinson & Co·Henry Matthews·Edward Edwards·A E Jones·Mappin & Webb
The Antique Silver Bow Glossary
- Paste glass
- Hand-cut and polished glass used to imitate gemstones in antique jewellery. It is often foiled at the back to enhance reflectivity and colour depth.
- Sugar tongs
- Small domestic implements used for serving sugar cubes or lumps. They appear in pierced, cast, and engraved silver designs across the Georgian and Victorian periods.
- Bow-fronted
- A convex curved cabinet or furniture front popular in the Georgian period. This profile appears on mahogany cutlery boxes, barometers, and tea caddies.
- Lavalier
- A pendant necklace featuring a central drop stone or ornament suspended below the main chain. They often incorporate Edwardian ribbon and floral motifs.
Antique Silver Bow: Frequently Asked Questions
What is a silver bow brooch?
A silver bow brooch is a piece of jewellery shaped like a tied ribbon knot, frequently set with diamonds, paste, turquoise, or enamel.
These accessories were especially popular during the Victorian and Edwardian eras, often incorporating secondary drops or functioning as pendant combinations.
How do I date a silver photo frame?
Dating silver photo frames involves examining the hallmarks stamped on the silver border for city assay office marks and date letters.
Stylistic cues such as plain borders, Neoclassical Revival swags, or Edwardian proportions also help narrow down the decade of manufacture.
What were sugar tongs used for?
Sugar tongs were essential tabletop implements used during tea service to transfer sugar lumps from a bowl to a cup.
Examples range from simple Georgian wire-work nips to heavily cast and pierced Victorian and eighteenth century designs.
How should I care for antique silver?
Antique silver benefits from gentle cleaning with a soft microfibre cloth to remove dust and retard tarnish buildup.
Harsh chemical dips should be avoided, particularly on items featuring delicate paste glass, enamel, tortoiseshell, or fabric components like velvet.