Pair antique Fiddle & Thread fish servers

Fine pair of Victorian silver fish servers with crisply hand-pierced and hand-engraved swirling foliage decoration on the blades, and handles in the fiddle & thread pattern.

The silver fish slice dates from about the 1750s and was popular until the end of the 1800s. As the name suggests, it was designed for serving fish at the table and typically had a wide scimitar shaped blade and, like this example, was often pierced and engraved with a flat or decorative cast handle. Some fish slices had a marine decoration to the blade or handle representing fish, eels or shrimps. During the Victorian period, they were popular as a gift presented in a boxed set with the addition of a wide bladed matching fork, and were then called fish servers.