Trays and Salvers

Trays and salvers
Serving dishes and plates

Trays and Salvers

An early George II Square Salver
by Paul de Lamerie, London, 1728

The difference between salvers and trays is that trays have handles and salvers do not. Trays are not found before the late 18th century. Most early salvers perished in the English Civil War and there are few survivors before the reign of Queen Anne.

America imported many salvers from England. Those they made themselves are similar to English ones at an earlier period, and because rare, are expensive The most common pre-Revolution salver has a shell and scroll border and is more restrained than English salvers of the period.

Salvers under 6 inches (15cm), are occasionally called waiters. The early 18th-century salver is found with a central foot and is sometimes incorrectly called a tazza. Borders generally follow those of the period.

There are few oblong salvers, and square examples tend to date from c.1720-40, when a few rare octofoil (eight sided) examples were also made. Oval salvers, usually from the late 18th century, are much sought after.

Trays are usually oblong or oval, and being larger than salvers, are more expensive. Trays from the 1750s are rare and command high prices. Very large round salvers, being awkward to use, are not as collectable as their size might indicate

Serving dishes and plates

The earliest surviving plates and their attendant serving dishes are found in the early 18th century. At this time borders are absent but a thread moulding appears by the 1720s. By about 1730 the gadroon border takes over and the outline becomes waved and remains so, although plain circular plates were produced again at the end of the 18th century. More expensive plates have shell-decorated borders and some Regency ones have tied reed borders; beaded borders appearing around1780.

Shaped oval meat dishes were made en suite with the plates and most popular are the very small and the very large. Some of the largest have tree-like wells for draining the juices and occasionally a mazarine, although these have frequently been separated from their dishes. A set would have comprised six dozen dinner plates, two dozen soup plates and 15 or 20 dishes. Such sets are very rare today.