Antique Victorian Sterling Silver and Mother of Pearl Fruit/dessert Service

An exceptional, fine and impressive antique Victorian English sterling silver and mother of pearl fruit/dessert cutlery set for twelve persons - boxed; an addition to our antique flatware and cutlery collection. This exceptional, fine and impressive antique Victorian sterling silver and mother of pearl dessert service consists of twelve knives and twelve forks. The blades of the Victorian knives have a rounded form and the forks each have four tines/prongs. The surface of each knife blade and drop of each fork is embellished with impressive bright cut engraved scrolling leaf decoration. Each piece of this antique silver cutlery service is fitted with the original and impressive, large carved mother of pearl handle. The knives and forks retain the original sterling silver ferrules ornamented with ribbed ornamentation. Each mother of pearl knife and fork is fitted to the fine and impressive original hinged mahogany wood canteen box with a lift up lid and lift out tray. The interior of the box bears a satin lining to the cover and velvet lining to the tray and well. Each piece of this Victorian silver cutlery service was crafted by James Dixon & Sons Ltd; these pieces will have been crafted in fewer years but due to the hallmarking system the forks bear the date letter for 1898 (f) and the knives feature the letter for 1900 (h). Such examples with mother of pearl handles in this perfect condition are becoming increasingly difficult to locate. Dimensions Knife Length 19.9cm/7.83' Width 1.7cm/0.67' Length of handle 8cm/3.15' Fork Length 16.3cm/6.42' Width 1.8cm/0.71' Length of handle 7.4cm/2.91' Weight Not measurable as mother of pearl handles Maker: James Dixon & Sons Ltd Origin: Sheffield, England