Hello All
I have a quetion regarding a set of silver wear, I know that most are 12 per item(forks, Spoons.....) but is there a set of 8?
Thank you for your help.
Jon
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How many item in a set!
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dragonflywink
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I think Cheryl has given you the answer you are looking for, but for the record I'm going to try to open this up to general discussion and see what opinions others may have.
To my mind, there is no limit, neither up nor down, to what defines a set.
A set or service is comprised of any number of place settings.
A place setting being the number of implements used by one person at the table.
A modern basic place setting is usually 5 pieces; knife, dining fork, salad/dessert fork, table/soup spoon and tea/desert spoon. There are certainly more complex place settings and I can only guess at how elaborate one could have been during the heyday of the Victorian specialty utensil craze. I'll hazard a wild guestimate and say perhaps as many as twenty pieces in a single place setting.
That said, a group of x number of place settings = a service for x or a set of x. Provide whatever number you like for x, from 1 to infinity.
Regards, Tom
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To my mind, there is no limit, neither up nor down, to what defines a set.
A set or service is comprised of any number of place settings.
A place setting being the number of implements used by one person at the table.
A modern basic place setting is usually 5 pieces; knife, dining fork, salad/dessert fork, table/soup spoon and tea/desert spoon. There are certainly more complex place settings and I can only guess at how elaborate one could have been during the heyday of the Victorian specialty utensil craze. I'll hazard a wild guestimate and say perhaps as many as twenty pieces in a single place setting.
That said, a group of x number of place settings = a service for x or a set of x. Provide whatever number you like for x, from 1 to infinity.
Regards, Tom
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Answer to that question also relate to time and place. A set - well often given in pair. 2 pieces.
Silver was expensive so 2, 4, 6, 8 or 12. That was standard. Given in pair for weddings.
Given 1 piece for konfirmation, 18-year birthday, birth, or funeral for that matter.
25 years of service - 1 spoon for the maid.
The husband (master of household) would use silver so his vife - rest of household/family horn or other cheap materials.
But when we talk more that a single piece - we talk people with a lot of money.
In biedermeier period after 1820/1840 - more and more pieces of flatware is inventet. The a set set becomes something else. dinner pieces, lunch pieces, dessert pieces, etc etc..
So to relate to question we need to define - also time and place. Your question was ment to be 2009 - correct?
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Silver was expensive so 2, 4, 6, 8 or 12. That was standard. Given in pair for weddings.
Given 1 piece for konfirmation, 18-year birthday, birth, or funeral for that matter.
25 years of service - 1 spoon for the maid.
The husband (master of household) would use silver so his vife - rest of household/family horn or other cheap materials.
But when we talk more that a single piece - we talk people with a lot of money.
In biedermeier period after 1820/1840 - more and more pieces of flatware is inventet. The a set set becomes something else. dinner pieces, lunch pieces, dessert pieces, etc etc..
So to relate to question we need to define - also time and place. Your question was ment to be 2009 - correct?
.
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andoyan621
- Posts: 10
- Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2009 1:18 pm
How many in a set
To House-dk;
No I am not implying for the sets in 2009 I am interested in the old sets either U.S. or Europe silver wear, Since I fined some that have 7 forks 7 spoons ...., I want to know by looking at the maker of the sets did they make 7 per item for that pattern or 8 or 12 I am just trying to learn how to identify a broken up set VS complete set.
Thank you for your help.
Jon
.
No I am not implying for the sets in 2009 I am interested in the old sets either U.S. or Europe silver wear, Since I fined some that have 7 forks 7 spoons ...., I want to know by looking at the maker of the sets did they make 7 per item for that pattern or 8 or 12 I am just trying to learn how to identify a broken up set VS complete set.
Thank you for your help.
Jon
.
A place setting would include from 3-pieces (knife, fork and spoon) to over 50 pieces. Today the basic place setting would include 5 pieces, a dinner knife, a teaspoon, a cream soup/consume spoon, a dinner fork and a salad fork. The total number of items in a place setting has always been dictated by the eating habits of the time it was made and the time of day the silver was used. In the 1970 the individual butter spreader was deleted from the basic place setting.
A basic flatware service would, usually, include some multiple of 4 place settings. It is typical to find services for 8 or 12.
A full silver service would include a breakfast service, a luncheon service, a tea/dessert set and a dinner service with all the necessary serving pieces from asparagus tongs to tureen ladles and ashtrays to water pitchers. A full service includes all the flatware and hollow-ware in a pattern and such a service could include hundreds of pieces.
For a long time in the U.S. it was typical for many brides to receive a single piece (IE. a knife, fork or spoon or serving piece), a set of one piece (IE. 4 demitasse spoons), or a place setting as a wedding gift from friends and family. What was given depended on the closeness of the giver and their ability to afford the items. This was one of the original reasons for the creation of gift registries (so the bride could choose her pattern and know all her silver would match) Because of this practice it is not unusual to find a service with odd numbers of basic items. If a bride received 7 forks for her wedding from 7 different people she might not have had the funds to complete the service. Also, there have been occasions when pieces became damaged (the famous fork bent when someone used it to open a jar), or lost (the child who "borrowed" a serving spoon to play in the yard...) which would have reduced the number to less than ideal.
In other cultures it was a practice for family members to give girls silver (starting at their birth) for birthdays and holidays expecting for her to have a basic service before her wedding. (“Gee, mom another spoon, what fun?” said the 11-year old girl on her birthday).
In more affluent circles a bride could expect her parents to give her a basic service for 8 as part of her wedding gifts. Often this basic service would also include what is called a hostess set containing a master butter, slotted serving spoon, cold meat fork, pie server and a pair of serving/table spoons. Family and friends would often add to the service with other pieces as they chose.
With the advent of plated flatware less affluent families might give a similar service in plated pieces with family members adding additional place setting or non-basic elements to the service. Knowing this, many plate manufacturers pre-packaged sets for sale as add-ons to the basic service, something I have yet to find occurring with sterling.
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A basic flatware service would, usually, include some multiple of 4 place settings. It is typical to find services for 8 or 12.
A full silver service would include a breakfast service, a luncheon service, a tea/dessert set and a dinner service with all the necessary serving pieces from asparagus tongs to tureen ladles and ashtrays to water pitchers. A full service includes all the flatware and hollow-ware in a pattern and such a service could include hundreds of pieces.
For a long time in the U.S. it was typical for many brides to receive a single piece (IE. a knife, fork or spoon or serving piece), a set of one piece (IE. 4 demitasse spoons), or a place setting as a wedding gift from friends and family. What was given depended on the closeness of the giver and their ability to afford the items. This was one of the original reasons for the creation of gift registries (so the bride could choose her pattern and know all her silver would match) Because of this practice it is not unusual to find a service with odd numbers of basic items. If a bride received 7 forks for her wedding from 7 different people she might not have had the funds to complete the service. Also, there have been occasions when pieces became damaged (the famous fork bent when someone used it to open a jar), or lost (the child who "borrowed" a serving spoon to play in the yard...) which would have reduced the number to less than ideal.
In other cultures it was a practice for family members to give girls silver (starting at their birth) for birthdays and holidays expecting for her to have a basic service before her wedding. (“Gee, mom another spoon, what fun?” said the 11-year old girl on her birthday).
In more affluent circles a bride could expect her parents to give her a basic service for 8 as part of her wedding gifts. Often this basic service would also include what is called a hostess set containing a master butter, slotted serving spoon, cold meat fork, pie server and a pair of serving/table spoons. Family and friends would often add to the service with other pieces as they chose.
With the advent of plated flatware less affluent families might give a similar service in plated pieces with family members adding additional place setting or non-basic elements to the service. Knowing this, many plate manufacturers pre-packaged sets for sale as add-ons to the basic service, something I have yet to find occurring with sterling.
.