Velvet Silver Pincushion
These velvet silver pincushion pieces combine crisp sterling mounts with tactile fabric pads, offering charming miniature animal and everyday object designs that collectors prize.
Velvet Silver Pincushion
A velvet silver pincushion is a small desk or dressing table accessory designed to hold sewing pins securely within a fabric cushion fitted inside a metal mount.
The most common forms on this page are Edwardian novelty pieces shaped as animals, birds, and footwear like shoes, boots, and clogs.
Originating predominantly from the Victorian, Edwardian, and Georgian periods, these items range from simple baskets to intricate figures such as pigs, chicks, and swans.
What Varies In Quality
Quality depends on the crispness of the silversmith's chasing and the anatomical accuracy or whimsy of the novelty form.
Pieces bearing clear hallmarks for makers such as Sampson Mordan & Co or Adie & Lovekin demonstrate higher desirability and documented provenance.
The integration between the metal body and the surviving velvet or fabric insert affects the overall completeness of the piece.
Velvet Silver Pincushion Retail Price Guide 2026
Typical asking prices for velvet silver pincushion 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.
Among the menagerie of silver animals, a remarkably determined Cheshire Cat stands ready to hold your sewing pins.
Sampson Mordan & Co·Adie & Lovekin
The Velvet Silver Pincushion Glossary
- Sterling silver
- A silver alloy containing 92.5 percent pure silver and 7.5 percent other metals, usually copper, ensuring durability for small decorative items.
- Hallmark
- An official stamp applied to silver items indicating the maker, assay office, and year of testing.
- Filigree
- Delicate ornamental work consisting of fine silver wire twisted into openwork patterns.
- Chasing
- A metalsmithing technique where the silver is hammered from the front to sink the metal and create raised surface decoration.
Velvet Silver Pincushion: Frequently Asked Questions
How were they used?
Victorian and Edwardian tailors, seamstresses, and homemakers pushed sewing pins into the velvet or fabric inserts to keep them organised and close at hand during needlework.
The solid silver bases kept the lightweight pieces stable on fabric-covered tables.
How do I date a silver pincushion?
Assay office marks and date letters stamped onto the silver mount provide the exact year and location of manufacture.
Stylistic cues, such as the naturalistic animal modelling typical of Edwardian pieces, also help identify the period.
Are all novelty pincushions animals?
While birds, chicks, pigs, and dogs appear frequently, makers also shaped silver and velvet pincushions into shoes, boots, roller skates, vehicles, and wheelbarrows.
Georgian examples occasionally utilise openwork silver baskets.