Figural Silver Victorian Napkin Rings - Set of 4

Description

In the Victorian home, it was standard practice for the table to be set with napkin rings that were all … more In the Victorian home, it was standard practice for the table to be set with napkin rings that were all different. They were usually gifts or at the very least chosen with the user's interests in mind, the huntsman, the equestrian, the dog lover, the artist. The family members would find their napkin tucked into their ring when they sat at breakfast in the morning and that same napkin would be tucked into the ring for the remaining meals of the day. It was in one's best interests to be a bit tidy about one's eating! You are receiving napkin rings that span several decades. The one with the falcons is from the aesthetic period, that of Charles Locke Eastlake, 1860s, while the one with the palms is likely from that era when all things Egyptian were in vogue, 1890s. I can make out a faintly engraved initial on one of them, but you can see that each has a smooth area that could be engraved. I suspect that the custom of compulsively matching a tableful of napkin rings came later, as the intimacy of the family table and the habit of having that napkin handy at each meal only really works when each person's place is identifiable. I recall an old friend had received a pair of napkin rings when he was married that had been "family" objects, children with dogs - engraved with a long gone aunt and uncle's first names, their napkin rings as children in the 1890s. They are English and American, not all from the same maker at all. less