Deceptively heavy at 23 Troy ounces, this superb object is finely designed and detailed. Manufactured by Towle Silversmiths around 1910, and marketed by Theodore Starr of New York City, it is approximately 9-1/4 inches in diameter and 6-1/2 inches tall to the top of its handsome swing handle. Excellent condition, with no damage or repairs. Please see related grape shears 809350.

A finely crafted pair of table service tongs, this item brings elegance to the serving of fried chicken and other difficult-to-handle food items. The handles are of sterling silver and the business end is precision-crafted of surgical-quality chromed steel, stamped "Germany." Excellent condition, approximately seven inches in length.

One of the most sought-after promotional items is the Huntley & Palmer lithographed tin biscuit box that masquerades as a collection of the Waverley novels of Sir Walter Scott, “Rob Roy,” “Ivanhoe,” “Guy Mannering,” etc. Here is a remarkably well-preserved example, the colors brilliant and the “leather belt” and gilt edges in pristine condition. With the height and width of approximately 6-1/2 inches and the depth 4-3/4 inches, it is English and dates from about 1900.

This 11 by 15-1/4 inch sterling silver is in exceptionally fine condition and of massive weight, a bit over 3-1/2 pounds. It bears the London hallmarks of 1789-90, maker William Simons.

Incorporating a fortune in Renaissance and later coins, this magnificent set is composed of two large decanters, a covered powder box and a shoe horn. It is marked "Geo.C. Shreve & Co. San Francisco." Circa 1880, superb condition. The decanters are 8-1/2 inches high and 5-1/2 inches wide, the powder box is 5-3/4 inches high and 4-1/4 inches in diameter and the shoe horn is 10-1/4 inches in length and two inches wide at the base...

Either Spanish or Dutch in origin, this sharply defined candlestick dates from the end of the Seventeenth Century. It is about seven inches tall, with a base 4-1/4 inches in diameter, and features a candle-extraction hole at the bottom of the candlecup.

This finely turned bell metal candlestick is English and dates from the early part of the Eighteenth Century. It is approximately seven inches high and four inches in diameter.

Here is a rare find: a pair of Seventeenth Century candlesticks in lustrous bell metal the color of rose gold. Engraved with designs of stylized flowers and festoons, they are about six inches tall and 4-1/2 inches in diameter. Both sticks have been pierced (not by me!) for electrical wiring.

In remarkably perfect condition, this charming faux-bambou brass chamber stick, or "go-to-bed," still has its original shade, finely engraved with fleurs-de-lys. It measures approximately six inches tall and is French, circa 1830.

A graceful example of Gorham mastery is this neoclassic Medallion vase in coin silver, circa 1865. The swagged applied decoration meets at two high-relief heads, a man and a woman. Fine condition, with only very minor signs of age, and typical good weight. Approximately 6-1/2 inches tall and 2-1/2 inches wide.

With quintessential elegance this coin silver tazza expresses the best in Neo-Classical design. Modeled after an ancient Grecian drinking cup, the serving dish boasts two handles cresting gracefully up on either side, one bearing a Homeric bearded profile , the other the profile of Greek woman. Subtly engraved in script at the base is, "Fronie W., Oct 20th/64," dating the piece to the time of the Civil War...

Looking as sharp as the day it was made is this elegant sterling silver three-piece tea service from the workshop of veteran silversmith William Hall, first registered in London in 1795. Weighing a serious four pounds all in, the set features neo-Rococo designs of repousse flowers and foliage, with borders of interlaced stylized fronds, all expressing the work of a master craftsman and hall marked London, 1815 to 1826...