George III Silver Dish Cross

A lovely George III silver dish cross.

It consists of a small round bellied bowl, around which one ring rotates above another. The bowl has a small detachable lid with a fine gadroon border. Each ring has two arms extending from it, so the four arms stick out as an 'X' -- the angles being adjustable by rotating the upper ring. Each arm is supported at the end by a scroll leg with a shell foot, which can slide up and down the arm to hold a dish or platter in a wide variety of sizes and shapes.

This is an excellent Georgian dish cross, made at a time when they were very popular in the best English households. They were used to stand a hot dish which had just come from the kitchen. The small bowl was filled with oil, and the wick would be lit to keep the contents of the dish warm when serving ... and it would also protect the table from too much heat.

Dish crosses were invented in Ireland around 1730. This English piece is hallmarked under the small bowl, with part marks on two arms and each of the four sliding legs. The lid of the bowl is apparently unmarked.

This fine George III silver dish was made in 1768 by William Plummer of London.