Silver cutlery: highlights for the feast

"Old silver cutlery shines on every table. And should also be used more often in everyday life. Because it is easier to care for than you think.

Nothing is rarely hidden from the tablecloth. The red wine drips from the glass, the pea rolls in greeting to the person next to you, the hem of the blanket catches fledgling red cabbage - as always at the last second, just before the trouser leg. But the nice thing about a banquet table is that the clutter at the table cannot dampen the festive mood. In contrast to the simple dinner setting. Because on holidays, spilling goes hand in hand with clunking.

We also have the family silver to thank for this. It feels heavy in the hand and looks as pretty as anything on the table. The cutlery “for good”, which it often was (and sometimes still is), brings some sparkle to the table at the latest around the holidays. No matter whether it is decorated with a chased rose or fine Art Deco lines. Silver is cool.

 

The only thing even more beautiful is when silver meets candlelight, or better: candlelight meets silver. How warmly the surface of the cool precious metal sparkles – electric light cannot compete with that. Says someone who should know: Klaus Jantos. The expert has dedicated himself entirely to silver. He runs a small antique shop at Frankfurt's Paulskirche, whose name “Silberkammer” is no exaggeration. In addition to all sorts of historical objects, jewelry, porcelain and silver dishes, his showcases also contain fine cutlery.

“Silver cutlery was a status symbol and was still a matter for the nobility in the 18th century,” says the expert. Because the metal was also in circulation as currency, only a few could afford the elaborately crafted pieces. 

 

Only when technical progress made industrial production possible, which today has completely replaced the old crafts, and comparatively inexpensive silver-plated cutlery came onto the market through electroplating, did table silver become suitable for the masses.

 

For his business, Jantos only buys pieces that are actually made of silver and are not simply silver-plated. Many of the cutlery pieces come from England or France and are hallmarked with fineness levels of 750, 800, even 950; some once graced courtly banquet tables. Back then, “spoon maker” was still a separate profession. An example from this period, made in 1745 and owned by the Duke of Württemberg-Oels, still shows the traces of fine hammer blows in the bowl, the scooping part of the spoon.

Baroque silver is particularly valuable, says Jantos. It is rare because fashions were already changing the dining tables of Europe back then. From around 1780 onwards, classicism focused on simpler decors. “A lot of baroque silver was melted down; people wanted to have more contemporary cutlery,” says the dealer. However, some of the clients saved themselves having to hallmark the pieces again after they were melted down, i.e. collecting numbers or symbols that prove, for example, how high the silver content is or who was responsible for the work - because taxes usually had to be paid on silver. This makes the determination tricky at times.

 

 

It's not just laypeople who occasionally despair about the question of what these tongs or that strange perforated ladle from great-grandma's cutlery tray is supposed to be used for. Even experts like Dennis Zieres are sometimes puzzled. For the cutlery expert at the Frankfurt Silver Chamber, it seems as if there is no year, no decoration, no manufacturer and no famous previous owner that he doesn't have in mind. It is rare for experts to be unable to understand the nature of an old piece of cutlery, but it does happen. In the past, an envelope, i.e. a set of cutlery for one person, often consisted of twelve pieces. And so Zieres talks about snail forks and marrow spoons before he takes a French oyster fork from a cubbyhole in the shop and a richly decorated meat skewer, the opulence of which can only be surpassed by the gold-plated wedding silver of Kaiser Wilhelm II, which Zieres also places next to it.

Except among sworn collectors, such works are no longer in demand. Jantos also sells figurative decors such as rural motifs in silver bowls or the “Hildesheim Rose” almost exclusively to China or the Arab world. In contrast to sets from Art Nouveau or Art Deco, which are still popular for the banquet table in Germany and probably fit better in modern living rooms.

 

In order for the silver to last for a long time, it is important to take proper care of it. Although silver is antiseptic, it is sensitive to acid and is rather soft, which is why knife blades are usually made of steel. The experts say that these fine tools have no place in the dishwasher. Knives prove to be a particular problem because the handles are filled with putty. In the hot machine, the mass can expand and, in the worst case, the knife can burst. Also against tricks like the aluminum foil salt bath against oxidized areas warns Zieres. “Over time, this attacks the surface and the silver can become dull,” he says. A simple polish from the drugstore and a little patience were enough.

And after all, a little meditation exercise before the hustle and bustle of the festival doesn't have to be a bad thing. Anyone who spends most of the time until the big performance in a velvet bed will probably be considered one of the treasures of a household and deserves so much dedication. And if the keepers of the cutlery box are still afraid, there is a last resort: make silver cutlery an everyday companion. Then the stains don't even get a chance to start."