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English antique novelty sterling silver napkin ring in the form of a belt buckle.
Hallmarked from Birmingham in 1865 with the makers mark being that of Edward Smith.
Engraved with the initials RP.
In wonderful clean order, a good early example from a maker mostly known for boxes.
Measures 42mm in diameter and 22mm in depth at deepest point of the buckle.
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English antique novelty sterling silver napkin ring in the form of a belt buckle.
Hallmarked from Birmingham in 1865 with the makers mark being that of Edward Smith.
Engraved with the initials RP.
In wonderful clean order, a good early example from a maker mostly known for boxes.
Measures 42mm in diameter and 22mm in depth at deepest point of the buckle.
| DATE | 1865 |
| MAKER or SPONSOR MARK | Edward Smith |
| ASSAY OFFICE | Birmingham |
| WEIGHT (Grammes) | 19 |
| WEIGHT (Troy) | 0.61 |
| REF:- | 612X |
Napkin rings were first introduced in France during the Napoleonic period. Subsequently, the middle classes mostly used napkin rings as a simple means of identifying who owned which napkin.
Firstly, napkin rings often appear as single items with the name or initials of the owner which can be given as Christening presents. In a similar vein, pairs of napkin rings can be given as wedding presents and at silver weddings.
The use of napkin rings soon spread to most of the European countries and to America. Meanwhile many 19th century napkin rings were made of silver or silver plate, but others were made in bone, wood, pearl, embroidered material, porcelain etc.
Moreover, the napkin ring is a practical object with its historical roots in France. The napkin ring identified one’s napkin in between washes!
| Origin | English |
|---|---|
| Period | Victoria 1837-1901 |
| Sponsor/Maker | Edward Smith |
| REF CODE | 612X |
Situated within the Central belt of Scotland (UK), we are a small, family run business. Indeed, we traded in silver for many years before forming Dart Silver Ltd in 2006.
As we are collectors ourselves, we fully appreciate that money is hard earned! For this reason we therefore try to provide informative descriptions as well as high quality photographic images of all our items. Hopefully this will make your purchase as smooth as possible.
Having a good rapport with our ever growing list of repeat customers is important to us. You will therefore always find us to be professional and enthusiastic in our dealings with you.
While we obviously have to make a living, we strive very hard to offer goods at competitive prices. In many instances this is at large discounts compared to other dealers or traders.
Above all, we very much appreciate your decision to stop by for a visit and thank you in advance should you decide to shop with us. Even if you don’t make a purchase this time, please feel free to stop by again soon as we regularly add new stock items.
Situated within the Central belt of Scotland (UK), we are a small, family run business. Indeed, we traded in silver for many years before forming Dart Silver Ltd in 2006.
