Antique Silver Cloche
These antique silver cloches are grand table covers that keep joints warm and command the dining room.
Antique Silver Cloche
An antique silver cloche brings serious presence to the dining table, taking the form of large domed covers designed to keep meat joints and roasts warm before carving. Buyers seeking an antique silver cloche will find heavy domed covers spanning the Georgian, Victorian, and Edwardian periods.
How they were made
These covers rely on durable base metals such as copper and brass, fused or plated with silver using techniques like Old Sheffield plating, electroplating, and silver plating. Makers shaped the heavy metal sheets into sweeping domes to trap heat over platters.
Decoration often includes cast handles, applied borders, and engraved crests or eagles, showing the heavy hand-finishing typical of nineteenth-century metalwork.
Antique Silver Cloche Retail Price Guide 2026
Typical asking prices for silver cloche among the pieces listed under this phrase on Sellingantiques today, from the lower quarter to the upper quarter. They describe what is for sale here now, not the wider market.
Listings span the nineteenth century, featuring Georgian, Victorian, and Edwardian periods alongside French Restoration styles.
What varies in quality
Quality rests heavily on the weight of the metal and the crispness of the applied handles and crests. Superior examples display thick plating that has worn evenly over the copper or base metal beneath, alongside balanced proportions and firm, comfortable grip handles.
Maker attribution and matched graduated sets elevate a piece significantly above standard single covers. The depth of hand-engraving and the structural integrity of the large domed body dictate where a piece sits in the range.
Roberts Cadman·Henry Wilkinson·Boulton·Durand
The Antique Silver Cloche Glossary
- Old Sheffield plate
- A method of fusing a thin sheet of silver to a thicker copper ingot before rolling and shaping. This technique creates a rich surface where the copper subtly shows through high points.
- EPNS
- Electroplated nickel silver, a common nineteenth-century industrial process that replaced older plating methods. It provides a bright, uniform silver coating over a hard white metal base.
- Meat dome
- A large domed cover designed to fit over a serving platter and retain heat for large joints of meat. These pieces form the core of the serveware selection here.
- Fusee clock
- A mechanical clock driven by a chain and fusee cone to maintain even tension as the mainspring unwinds. They frequently sit beneath glass domes in nineteenth-century interiors.
Antique Silver Cloche: Frequently Asked Questions
What is an antique silver cloche used for?
These large domed covers were placed over platters of meat on the dining table to keep joints warm between the kitchen and the dining room.
Today, collectors use them as striking decorative centrepieces on sideboards or large dining tables.
How do I clean an antique silver cloche?
Use a soft cloth and a gentle silver polish specifically formulated for plated metals to avoid wearing through the thin silver layer.
Take extra care around engraved crests and applied handles where older plating might be thinner.
What is the difference between Old Sheffield plate and EPNS?
Old Sheffield plate involves fusing real silver to a copper base before shaping, creating a distinct warm tone as the silver wears.
Electroplated nickel silver uses an electrical current to bond silver onto a white metal alloy, producing a more uniform modern finish.