Sugar bowl

Object Type
The sugar bowl, in a specialised form, began to appear in about 1690. By the latter part of the 18th century, the standard form for the sugar bowl or basket had become vase shaped, often pierced, as with this example, and provided with a coloured glass liner.

Time
Silver pierced work was enormously popular in the mid-18th century when the Sheffield plating industry was just getting under way.

Materials & Making
The traditional silversmith's technique for executing this type of work was with a fretsaw, which proved quite unsuitable for Sheffield plate. The teeth of the saw ripped the silver surface, tearing it away from the copper core and leaving a jagged edge. The copper core itself was exposed to view at the same time. The solution adopted to overcome this was to use a fly punch. This consisted of a large screw, secured in a frame, which had a large cross bar at the top with weights at either end. This machine works on the same principle as an early printing press, serving to translate a horizontal movement into a vertical downward thrust. The lower end drove a hardened steel cutting tool, shaped to the pattern required, directly through the surface of the metal in one operation causing the uppermost silver skin to be dragged over the copper core and so at the same time concealing it. The underside of the sheet being pierced is protected to prevent any possible distortion.