{"product_id":"silver-plate-butter-dish","title":"1930s Silver Plate Butter Dish in Welbeck Plate by Alexander Clark London","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eButter deserves better than a plastic tub, and this Alexander Clark butter dish makes the case rather well. Made in London in the 1920s or 1930s and stamped Welbeck Plate on the base, it comes from the firm that supplied silverware to hotels, ocean liners and well set tables across the country. The Welbeck mark was their own electroplate line, aimed at households who wanted the look of silver without the bill.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThe design is pure interwar restraint. A softly domed cover with a looped wire handle sits on a rectangular tray with a scalloped edge, and the whole thing has that slightly architectural feel that Art Deco did so well. It measures 17 x 14 x 10 cm with the lid in place, so it takes a standard 250 g block with room to spare, and the inner well keeps the butter neatly contained. We photographed it with Cornish butter for scale and then had to eat the evidence.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eCondition is honest and good for its age. The plate has the mellow, slightly uneven shine of a piece that has been used and polished for the best part of a century, with light surface scratches and some spotting to the tray where the plating has worn thin in places. The cover has a few small dents you can feel more than see. None of it affects use, and we think it reads as character rather than damage. If you want it gleaming, a proper silver polish will bring it up further.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eOn the table it works alongside almost anything. Pair it with plain white crockery and linen napkins for a Sunday breakfast, or let it sit on a shelf with a few other pieces of silver plate and a jug of dried hydrangeas for a still life that costs nothing to maintain. It also makes a good cheese dish for a wedge of cheddar, which is what many of these were originally sold as.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003eAntique silver plate like this was built to be handled daily, so use it. It has already outlasted several kitchens.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Blue Loft","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54894559920455,"sku":null,"price":32.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0850\/3921\/9015\/files\/56E73BA8-353C-4905-88DE-1F595CBF33C3.jpg?v=1788615474","url":"https:\/\/www.theblueloft.co.uk\/products\/silver-plate-butter-dish","provider":"The Blue Loft","version":"1.0","type":"link"}