In nineteenth-century households, meat was often carved by servants on a sideboard, but in middle-class homes, it became customary and fashionable for the host or hostess to carve meat or poultry at the dining table. As one 1856 etiquette manual advised, “One of the most important acquisitions in the routine of daily life is the ability to carve well, and not only well but elegantly,” since the practice put not only the lavish cut of meat, but also the carver’s skill, on display. Contributing to the elegance of the ritual were specialized utensils. These included carving knives, forks, sharpening steels, and knife rests like this one. Designed to keep greasy knife blades from soiling precious table linens, knife rests were essential to those who used carving knives manufactured by Tiffany and Company. While some other firms produced knives which had built-in rests, Tiffany did not.

Since they occupied a prominent place near the host at the head of the table, knife rests were a wonderful opportunity to employ whimsical, figural designs. This example, with its crossbar supported by two steadfast, crouching dogs, is the only one known to have been produced in this pattern. Stamped with the atypical mark, “OLD SILVER,” it was likely fashioned from a silver article that had either been damaged or gone out of style. Initially retailed by Ball, Black, and Co. of New York and later resold by Tiffany, the knife rest bears the marks of both firms, neither of which manufactured their own silver during the period in question.

Pictured in William P. Hood, Jr.’s book, Tiffany Silver Flatware 1845–1905: When Dining Was an Art, the knife rest illustrates an important development in the evolution of American dining customs. It is also a wonderful example of the reuse and resale of silver in this country.