John Millward Banks | Sterling Silver Open Salt | Birmingham | 1890

John Millward Banks | Sterling Silver Open Salt | Birmingham | 1890

Even the smallest detail of the Victorian dinner table had its appointed place.

John Millward Banks was a Birmingham silversmith working in the late Victorian period, when the city was an established centre of British silver manufacture. Small open salts were familiar objects on formal dining tables, sometimes provided for each diner and sometimes shared between them. They were made in many shapes, from plain bowls to more decorative forms.

The salt is a small round bowl, shaped in lobes that run from the centre of the base up to the rim. The rim is crimped into a frilled, wavy edge that follows the lobes. It stands on three ball feet. The side of the bowl is hallmarked with the maker’s mark J.M.B, the lion passant, the Birmingham anchor and the date letter for 1890–91.

Good condition, with no dents or splits. The exterior is bright, with fine scratches. The interior of the bowl shows salt staining and pitting, which will not polish out.

Key Details

• Maker: John Millward Banks, Birmingham
• Hallmarks: J.M.B maker’s mark, lion passant, Birmingham anchor, date letter for 1890–91
• Period: Victorian
• Material: sterling silver
• Form: round lobed open salt with crimped rim, on three ball feet
• Dimensions: diameter 4.5 cm; height 2.7 cm
• Weight: 10 g
• Condition: good; no dents or splits; fine scratches to the exterior; salt staining and pitting to the interior
• Buyer profile: collectors of Victorian silver and table silver, and anyone building a set of salts

Collector Appeal

A fully hallmarked Victorian open salt, with its maker, town and year recorded. The lobed body and crimped rim give a small piece a strong outline, the three ball feet lift it neatly from the table, and the interior still shows the marks of the salt it once held.

Made to hold a pinch at a time, it has outlasted every meal it was set out for.