Medallion flatware was in vogue during the 1860s and remained popular well into the following decade. John R. Wendt’s designs are recognized as some of the finest executed, as this unusual server attests. While its original purpose has not been confirmed from period sources, it is believed these impressive tongs, with their mechanical spring handle, were intended for serving toast.

Book excerpt: David B. Warren, Michael K. Brown, Elizabeth Ann Coleman, and Emily Ballew Neff. American Decorative Arts and Paintings in the Bayou Bend Collection. Houston: Princeton Univ. Press, 1998.