Silver Nautilus Shell Spoon Warmer – Downton Abbey Elegance At Its Best!

This Silver Nautilus Shell Spoon Warmer is perfect for a well set table by a host/hostess who knows how to dine elegantly!

You can find some historic information further down this page.

It measures 6 ¼” long, 5 5/8” tall, 3 ¾” wide. It is hallmarked on the bottom as shown.  There is minor wear to the hinged area of the top which shows more obviously in the picture than it does to the eye.  It does not diminish the beauty of this piece.

Displays beautifully when not being used to heat your spoons!

Our basic policy is no consignments!  We are making an exception for a number of Elegant Dining pieces from the collector who also has the pieces offered in the Coined – When Silver & Coins Are Joined category.  These pieces will not be in Shops At Fayrehale – They will remain in the collector’s possession until sold.

Pictorial Tour of our Vermont Shop.

Food served with a cold spoon may cool down too quickly for some tastes. Even worse, a dish with rich, fatty gravy may congeal unappealingly on its way to your plate. A decorative container filled with hot water to keep serving spoons and sauce ladles warm seemed like the perfect solution in Victorian England. The earliest spoon warmers date from the 1860s.

This makes more sense when we remember how cold British houses could be for much of the year. Until the later 20th century rooms were often poorly heated, even in wealthy homes. Households with servants urged their staff to hurry from kitchen to dining room so food could be served hot, or at least warm, on heated plates. (Keeping the plates hot was a big deal, but that’s another story.) Hot food was appetizing and proof of a well-run home too. Spoon warmers played their part in the effort to serve food at the right temperature – and fitted in with all the other paraphernalia in a fashionable late 19th century dining room.

A silver nautilus shell, open end upward, was a popular shape for a spoon warmer.