Pair silver & enamel game bird napkin rings

Rare pair of antique Edwardian silver napkin rings with hand-painted vitreous enamelled fascias. In crisp bright colours, one features a pheasant and the other a partridge set in landscape settings.  These finely made and heavy-gauge silver napkin rings have gilded interiors and may have been made in conjunction with menu holders on a smaller scale but of a similar or matching design and theme.

King Edward VII was a gourmand and had a penchant for shooting parties and the country pursuits of hunting and fishing. Aspiring middle class Edwardians followed his lead in dressing their tables with silver napkin rings, menu holders and other dining accessories featuring game birds, foxes, fish, hares or other motifs on the country theme.