Antique Silverplate Meriden Brittania Melon Tea Coffee Service With Reed And Barton Victorian Style Tray
Product Description And Additional Pictures
We are offering a lovely, antique silverplate three-piece tea or coffee service (the shape of the pot makes it appropriate for either) in the beautiful melon form. This set features the combined hallmarks of the esteemed Meriden Brittania Company, inclusive of its scales-in-shield design, and the International Silver Company, which leads us to believe that this set dates from approximately 1898. We have reached this conclusion because Meriden Brittania joined with a number of other silver companies to form the International Silver Company in 1898. Although Meriden Brittania would have been one of the more notable companies participating in this merger, it is not likely that its name and hallmark would have been used in conjunction with the International Silver hallmark much beyond the 1898 merger.
This set features a tea/coffee pot with a lovely melon blossom lid, a lidded sugar bowl, complete with its own melon blossom lid, and a cream pitcher. All the pieces in this set stand on four ornate feet, and boast ornate flourishes and pediments that offset the simplicity of the melon shapes. The coffee pot stands 9-1/2" tall measuring from the base to the top of the finial, and is 9-3/4" wide measuring from the tip of the spout to the furthest point on the handle. The lidded sugar bowl stands 5-1/4" tall measuring from the base to the top of the finial, and the cream pitcher stands 4-3/4" tall measuring from the base to the highest point on the handle.
Although this set did not come with its own tray, we have teamed it with a beautiful victorian-style silverplated tray produced by Reed & Barton in 1950. This tray measures 21-3/4" in length by 15-1/2" in width. Although the tray is not nearly so old as the tea set, we believe that this tray's 60+ years have given it sufficient 'gravitas' to provide the perfect background for the lovely tea set.
The service is in very good estate-found condition as seen in our photographs, with no dents, cracks or repairs, and with no areas where the silver plating has worn away. Similar to most trays, our victorian style-tray has enjoyed significant use and sports a few scratches on its surface, although none that expose the underlying metal. The person who purchases this tea service and tray will be delighted when he or she sees the quality of the pieces, and their exceptionally good condition! Remember, there isn't a house, a dining table, or for that matter, a grand piano that doesn't look richer and more elegant with silver!