On offer we have this beautiful vintage snack bowl with its under tray. All the siver overlay designs are marked "STERLING". The silver from the overlay is rather thick
The snack dish and its under tray are adorned with exquisite silver overlay flower type design.
The snack dish measures approximately 21,5 cm from ear to ear, and is approximately 8 cm high. The under tray measures approximately 21,5 cm in diameter and is approximately 1,5 cm high.
The pieces are in very good condition and there are no chips or cracks evident and the silver overlay is intact.
Background about silver overlay glass items.
“In 1889 Oscar Pierre Erard of Birmingham, England, developed an effective method of electroplating silver on glass with the shortcoming in that the reverse side of the silver design, the side next to the glass, would tarnish and turn dark.
In 1893, an American from New Jersey by the name of John H. Scharling patented a method in which the reverse side of the design was snow white and it stayed that way indefinitely. Like Erard's method, Sharling's designs utilized electroplating.
From 1895 to the late 1920s, this elegant and exciting manifestation of the glassmaker and silversmith's art garnered its own avid following, just short of becoming a decorative rage.
Silver overlay and silver deposit were regarded as an exquisite, special gift or accent for that certain table or shelf.
The Great Depression caused many of the glass companies to either go out of business or resort to specializing in cheaper, more affordable glassware.
The era of expensive sterling silver applied to glass was all but over and not may pieces can be found that were manufactured after the mid-1930s.
All overlay glasses have a design in silver 'electroplated' into the glass using electrolytic technique. The techniques of depositing the silver involve painting the design onto the glass with flux containing silver mixed with turpentine, firing this design in a kiln, cooling and cleaning the glass and then immersing it in a solution of silver through which a tiny electric current was passed. The silver was then built up on the area where the design had been painted.
An alternative method involved coating the whole surface with silver, painting the design onto the silver with a 'resist' and then dissolving away the unwanted parts of the silver.”
Please view the other items that the Beavers have on sale at: http://www.bidorbuy.co.za/seller/127794/Beavers
Happy Bidding!
