{"product_id":"silver-plated-coaster-with-shell-and-scroll-rim-on-four-ball-feet-marked-ep-on-steel-heavy-oxidation-to-the-well-c-1950-1975","title":"Silver-Plated Coaster with Shell and Scroll Rim on Four Ball Feet, Marked EP on Steel, Heavy Oxidation to the Well, c. 1950–1975","description":"  \u003ch3\u003eThe Piece\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA small round coaster, a shallow dish with a deep well and a wide decorative border, standing clear of the table on four little ball feet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cstrong\u003erim is the whole design\u003c\/strong\u003e: a repeating pattern of \u003cstrong\u003efluted shells alternating with C-scrolls\u003c\/strong\u003e, each scroll finishing in a small bead, struck in crisp relief and running unbroken all the way round. It still carries its silver, gone soft and grey with tarnish.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cstrong\u003ewell is something else entirely\u003c\/strong\u003e. The floor of the dish has oxidised to a deep orange rust, mottled through with brown and black, pooling darker at the centre and breaking into a fine granular crust across the base.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUnderneath, four \u003cstrong\u003egold-toned ball feet\u003c\/strong\u003e sit at the quarters, worn bright on their undersides. Between them the base is stamped with a small maker's device and, beneath it, \u003cstrong\u003eSILVER PLATED\u003c\/strong\u003e over \u003cstrong\u003eEP ON S\u003c\/strong\u003e[TEEL].\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eHistory \u0026amp; Provenance\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe mark on the base explains the condition exactly, which is unusual and rather satisfying.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSilver plate is always silver over something else, and the something else is stamped on the bottom so you know what you bought. \u003cem\u003eEPNS\u003c\/em\u003e is electroplated nickel silver — a copper, nickel and zinc base. \u003cem\u003eEPBM\u003c\/em\u003e is electroplated Britannia metal, a tin-based pewter used for teapots and jugs. Both were the respectable options.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“EP on steel” is the budget end.\u003c\/strong\u003e Steel is the cheapest base a plater can use, and it is the only one of them that rusts red. So the mark predicted this. Where the plating stayed intact — the high relief of the rim, the feet, the protected underside — the piece is still silver. Where it wore through, in the flat bottom of the well that took wet glasses over and over, the steel underneath met water and did what steel does.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe technology itself is Victorian.\u003c\/strong\u003e Elkington \u0026amp; Co. patented commercial electroplating in \u003cstrong\u003e1840\u003c\/strong\u003e, and it replaced the older fused Sheffield Plate almost immediately because it was faster, cheaper, and could coat any shape at all. That last part is what a rim like this depends on: every shell and scroll takes the silver evenly, which fused plate could never manage.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThis is offered as a decorative object, not as silver.\u003c\/strong\u003e The rim pattern is the reason to have it — the well is past restoration and is not represented otherwise.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDated on the steel base, which is a twentieth-century economy rather than a nineteenth-century one, and on the stamped rather than cast rim: \u003cstrong\u003ec. 1950–1975\u003c\/strong\u003e. The maker's device on the base is small and worn and is \u003cstrong\u003enot resolved to a firm\u003c\/strong\u003e; the coaster is offered \u003cstrong\u003eunattributed\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eProduct Details\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003ctable border=\"1\" cellpadding=\"8\" cellspacing=\"0\" style=\"width:100%; border-collapse:collapse;\"\u003e\n  \u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\" style=\"text-align:left; vertical-align:top;\"\u003eField\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003cth align=\"left\" style=\"text-align:left; vertical-align:top;\"\u003eDetail\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\u003c\/thead\u003e\n  \u003ctbody\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eObject\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eSmall footed coaster or drinks dish\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eForm\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eShallow round dish with a deep well inside a wide struck border of alternating fluted shells and beaded C-scrolls, raised on four gold-toned ball feet\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eMaterial\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eElectroplated silver over a \u003cstrong\u003esteel\u003c\/strong\u003e base — the cheapest of the plating bases and the only one that rusts\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eMarks\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eStamped to the underside: a small worn maker's device over \u003cem\u003eSILVER PLATED\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eEP ON S\u003c\/em\u003e[TEEL]. The device is not resolved to a firm; offered unattributed.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eEra\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003ec. 1950–1975. Dated on the steel base and the struck rim; electroplating itself dates from Elkington's 1840 patent and carries no date of its own.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eCondition\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSold as a decorative object. The well is heavily oxidised and that is permanent.\u003c\/strong\u003e Structurally it is sound — no splits, no perforation, no dents and no repairs; it sits flat and steady on all four feet, every foot is present and firmly set, and the shell-and-scroll border is complete and crisp the whole way round with its plating intact and only tarnished. \u003cstrong\u003eExpect the full orange-and-brown rust surface across the floor of the well\u003c\/strong\u003e, with a fine granular crust in places, plus grey tarnish to the rim and small scattered spots of oxidation on the underside. Not suitable for food use. Condition Guaranteed.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eAvailability\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"vertical-align:top;\"\u003eOne of a Kind — 1 Available\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n  \u003c\/tbody\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhy It Belongs in Your Home\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRust is a colour, and this is a very good one.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDeep orange shading to brown and black, ringed by a grey silver border of shells and scrolls, is a combination no manufacturer would design and no two of which are alike. Set it on a dark wood shelf, a green painted surface or a stone mantel and it reads as a small abstract painting with an ornate frame around it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt is genuinely useful for dry things. A ring dish beside a sink, a spot for cufflinks or collar stays on a dresser, a place for a watch at the end of the day, incense cones, paperclips and stamps on a desk, a single tea light. The four feet lift it clear so it never sits flat against a finish.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt also earns a place in a photograph or a styled shelf, which is a real use. The border catches light, the well absorbs it, and it gives a flat surface somewhere to rest the eye.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA note on care, and this one runs against instinct. \u003cstrong\u003eDo not try to remove the rust.\u003c\/strong\u003e There is no plating left underneath it — that is why it rusted — so a rust remover, a wire brush or an abrasive pad will take you down to raw pitted steel and leave you with a worse object than the one you started with. The corrosion is the surface now.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDo not put food or drink on it and do not put a wet glass on it\u003c\/strong\u003e, which is what caused this in the first place and will keep it going.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKeep it dry. Dust it with a soft dry brush, and if the silver rim needs attention, use a silver cloth on the border alone, keeping polish out of the well. Never wash it, never soak it and never put it in a dishwasher. Store it somewhere dry rather than a bathroom or a basement, and put a felt pad under it on a polished surface.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Viridian Eclection","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48042418274409,"sku":"VE-0716","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0651\/0093\/9369\/files\/96160091-9138-4EDD-8A06-1D1AC3486699.jpg?v=1789150185","url":"https:\/\/viridianeclection.com\/products\/silver-plated-coaster-with-shell-and-scroll-rim-on-four-ball-feet-marked-ep-on-steel-heavy-oxidation-to-the-well-c-1950-1975","provider":"Viridian Eclection","version":"1.0","type":"link"}