Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Silver, Room 65, The Whiteley Galleries

Dish Ring

ca. 1780 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This dish ring protected the surface of a wooden dinner table or sideboard from the heat of a plate of hot food. Dish rings took the form of a hollow, cylindrical or spool-shaped ring. In early examples the top and bottom rims of the spool-shaped sides were of equal diameter. In later examples the top was narrower than the base.

Dish rings became a speciality of Dublin silversmiths from about 1750, and the finest examples have the type of pierced decoration you can see here.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Silver, pierced
Brief description
Silver, Dublin, ca.1780, mark of Richard Williams
Physical description
Circular, the side concave and pierced in twelve wavy bands.
Dimensions
  • Height: 8cm
  • Diameter: 19.5cm
  • Weight: 263.9g
  • Weight: 8.48troy
Marks and inscriptions
  • Mark of Richard Williams
  • Dublin mark ca. 1780
Gallery label
DISH RING Dublin, no date mark, around 1775 Mark of Richard Williams Dish rings prevented hot dishes from marking the table. They were common in Ireland but the dish cross was more popular in England. The Earl of Carlisle ordered a dish ring and lamp from Parker and Wakelin in 1771 for £10 16s 9d. William Acland Cockerell Bequest M.42-1938
Credit line
William Acland Cockerell Bequest
Object history
Bequest - William Acland Cacknell
per the Misses Patience and Paulina Cacknell
Acquisition RF: 38 / 935
Summary
This dish ring protected the surface of a wooden dinner table or sideboard from the heat of a plate of hot food. Dish rings took the form of a hollow, cylindrical or spool-shaped ring. In early examples the top and bottom rims of the spool-shaped sides were of equal diameter. In later examples the top was narrower than the base.

Dish rings became a speciality of Dublin silversmiths from about 1750, and the finest examples have the type of pierced decoration you can see here.
Collection
Accession number
M.42-1938

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Record createdSeptember 10, 2004
Record URL
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