Sugar tongs

Dateca. 1790

MediumGilded fused silverplate (Sheffield plate); gold

DimensionsL: 5 1/2"

Credit LineGift of Dr. and Mrs. Benjamin Caldwell, Jr.

Object number1973-178

DescriptionBow sugar tongs with bright-cut decoration down the arms.Label TextThis pair of tongs, like many late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century plated examples, was rolled from plated wire, a development of the 1780s that eliminated the problem of exposed edges, except at the ends. Longitudinal stress lines, as is customary in articles made in this manner, are evident. The decoration is punched to simulate bright-cut engravingInscription(s)NoneMark(s)NoneProvenanceEx Coll: Dr. Benjamin H. Caldwell, Jr., Nashville, Tennessee