Holiday Coffee, Anyone?

The holidays mean having lots of people drop by the house or apartment for impromptu or planned visits, and we found a great Arts & Crafts Silver Plate Coffee Set to handle your home entertaining needs. We like to take the pulse of the antique and collectible furniture market with industry spokesman George Evans, the entrepreneur behind Bond & Bowery, a great online resource for antiques and fine art. When we asked him for holiday gift suggestions, he showed this set to us. It's holiday festive with its sparkling glow and unusual design.

Examiner: Why did this coffee set catch your eye, George?

George: It’s hard to find a complete coffee service with the original tray, and then to find such a set in a transitional Arts & Crafts style is a big bonus. The sleek lines of the pieces are more refined than most Arts & Crafts pieces, which is yet another eye-catching factor. This set is not clumsy at all; it has a lovely elegance.

Examiner: What do you think makes this set collectible?

George: Something is collectible if it's beautiful, versatile, and functional. What’s really great about this coffee service is that it would fit in many different styles of interiors. The obvious fit is an Arts & Crafts interior, of course, but the set would also serve well in an Art Deco or even a modern interior.

Examiner: Where would you use this coffee set in the home?

George: This set works anywhere! Use it in the dining room, breakfast room, living room, den or library, study, master bedroom, sun room, or kitchen. If you're lucky enough to have a butler’s pantry, these would be ideal service pieces to put on display and swing into full use for parties or casual entertaining.

This set comes from Bond & Bowery dealer Art Deco Collection of San Francisco, CA. The set was commercially or machine made with hand finishing. The base metal is an alloy of copper that has been silver plated. It comes from Argentina and was made in the 1920s, which is why the design is a transition of the Arts & Crafts and Art Deco periods. The condition makes this set even more desirable. It's all polished up and ready for any home!