Keyhole pattern – Dictionary of Silverware

A silver porringer made by silversmith John Coney in early eighteenth-century Boston
A silver porringer made by silversmith John Coney in early eighteenth-century Boston

Keyhole Pattern. The keyhole pattern was a popular design during the 18th century and was often used in silverware. The pattern’s name comes from the shape of the aperture at the terminal, which resembles a keyhole. A style of pierced pattern can be seen on the flat, horizontal handle of some porringers. It typically consists of four to ten additional holes, with the terminal hole resembling a keyhole.

Around 1730, it replaced the so-called “geometric pattern,” which featured apertures of different shapes, some of which were open on the sides. A pattern of pierced work is found on the flat horizontal handle of some porringers, having at the terminal an aperture suggestive of the form of a keyhole with, usually, four to ten other apertures. It superseded c. 1730, the so-called ‘geometric pattern’, which included apertures of various shapes, some open at the sides.

Textiles and Ceramics

It was a popular design during the 18th century when ornate and intricate patterns were in vogue. The pattern was created by repeating a series of interlocking shapes that formed a continuous design. This pattern was particularly popular in England and France and used to decorate everything from furniture to clothing. 

Today, the keyhole pattern remains a classic design that has stood the test of time. It continues to be used in modern designs, albeit with some modifications to suit contemporary tastes. Its enduring popularity is a testament to its timeless beauty and versatility as a design element.

Sources

Newman, H. (2000). An illustrated dictionary of silverware: 2,373 entries relating to British and North American wares, decorative techniques and styles, and leading designers and makers, principally from c.1500 to the present. Thames & Hudson.

Additional Reading

Dolan, M. (1993). 1830s-1990’s American Sterling Silver Flatware: A Collector’s Identification & Value Guide. United States: Books Americana. https://amzn.to/3mYhbWW

Haslam, M., & Haslam, M. (1995). Marks & Monograms: The Decorative Arts, 1880-1960. Collins & Brown.

Helliwell, S. (1988). Collecting Small Silverware. United Kingdom: Phaidon-Christie’s. https://amzn.to/3TnVSdA

Krekel-Aalberse, A. (1989). Art Nouveau and Art Deco silver. Abrams.

Langford, J. (1998). Silver: A Practical Guide to Collecting Silverware and Identifying Hallmarks. Australia: Sandstone Books. https://amzn.to/3LytDqD

Newman, H. (1987). An illustrated dictionary of silverware: 2,373 entries relating to British and North American wares, decorative techniques and styles, and leading designers and makers, principally from c.1500 to the present. United Kingdom: Thames and Hudson. https://amzn.to/40jlY3p

Rainwater, D. T., Fuller, M., & Fuller, C. (2004). Encyclopedia of American Silver Manufacturers. Schiffer Pub.

Rinker, H. L. (1997). Silverware of the 20th Century: The Top 250 Patterns. United States: House of Collectibles. https://amzn.to/3JLVUsu

Advertisements

Silverware – Amazon

More Posts on Silversmiths

  • Edward Spenser (1872 – 1938) British metalworker

    Edward Spenser (1872 – 1938) British metalworker

    Edward Spenser (1872 – 1938) was a British metalworker, silversmith, and jeweller. He was professionally active in London. Spencer was a junior designer at the Artificers’ Guild. When Montague Fordham took over the Guild in 1903, Spenser became chief designer. Read More →


    Read More →

  • Wiwen Nilsson (1897 – 1974) Swedish Silver Designer

    Wiwen Nilsson (1897 – 1974) Swedish Silver Designer

    He was trained in the workshop of his father Anders Nilsson. He studied at the Konigliche Preussische Zeichenakademie, Hanau (Germany), and in the Paris studio of Georg Jensen while at the Académie de la Grande Chaumiere and Académie Colarossi.Read More →


    Read More →

  • Arne Petersen (1922 – 2002) Danish Metalworker

    Arne Petersen (1922 – 2002) Danish Metalworker

    At the Copenhagen firm C.C. Herman, Petersen learnt silver and goldsmithing methods. He joined the Georg Jensen Solvsmedie in 1948 and worked in the hollow-ware department until 1976. His 1975 Bottle Opener, made of stainless steel soldered with brass, received a lot of attention. Read More →


    Read More →

  • International Silver Company (ISC) American Silversmiths

    International Silver Company (ISC) American Silversmiths

    The International Silver Company was founded in 1898 by a group of independent silversmiths from New England. Ashbil Griswold, who established his pewter shop in Meriden, Connecticut, in 1808, is credited with starting the early records of this industry.Read More →


    Read More →

  • Henri Navarre (1885 – 1970) French Metalworker

    Henri Navarre (1885 – 1970) French Metalworker

    Henri Navarre was a French sculptor, architect, silversmith, and glassmaker who was influenced by Maurice Marinot and exhibited his work at Galerie Edgar Brandt and Maison Geo Rouard.Read More →


    Read More →

  • Bertel Gardberg (1916 – 2007)  Finnish Jeweller and Metalworker

    Bertel Gardberg (1916 – 2007) Finnish Jeweller and Metalworker

    Bertel Gardberg was a Finnish jeweller and metal worker. Between 1938-1941 he studied at Taideteollin Korkeaukoulu, Helsinki. He began his working life in Copenhagen. Gardberg moved to Helsinki where he maintained a studio between 1949-1966. He was responsible for stainless steel and silver designs produced by the Georg Jensen Solvsmedie; Galeries Lafayette department store, Paris…


    Read More →

  • Louis Rault (1847 – 1903) French sculptor, engraver and jewellery designer

    Louis Rault (1847 – 1903) French sculptor, engraver and jewellery designer

    Louis Rault (1847 – 1903) was a French Sculptor, engraver, silversmith and jewellery designer.Between 1868 and 1875, Rault worked in the Boucheron workshop on the Place Vendôme in Paris. At the end of the nineteenth century, he set up a workshop where he produced silver and jewellery in the Art Nouveau style.Read More →


    Read More →

  • Julius Olaf Randahl (1880 – 1972) Swedish silversmith

    Julius Olaf Randahl (1880 – 1972) Swedish silversmith

    In 1901, he moved to New York and worked for Tiffany and Gorham Manufacturing. In 1907, he worked at the Kalo Shop in Chicago before opening his own Randahl Shop in Park Ridge, Illinois, in 1911.Read More →


    Read More →

  • Marius Hammer (1847 – 1927) Norwegian silversmith

    Marius Hammer (1847 – 1927) Norwegian silversmith

    Hammer was head of one of Norway’s largest silversmithies. He was best known for his plique-a-jour enamelled spoons popular with tourists and exported in large quantities. He produced the ‘Norwegian brilliant enamel work’ spoons offered in the 1896 and 1898 Christmas catalogues of Liberty, London. Read More →


    Read More →

  • Ampulla receptacle used in churches

    Ampulla receptacle used in churches

    Ampulla is a type of vessel used to hold chrism in churches.The pouring hole is in its beak. The cover is its head. LEARN MORERead More →


    Read More →

  • Harry Bertoia (1915 – 1978) Italian sculptor, furniture designer

    Harry Bertoia (1915 – 1978) Italian sculptor, furniture designer

    Harry Bertoia was a sculptor, printmaker, jeweller, and furniture designer. He was born in San Lorenzo, Udine, and worked in the United States professionally. During World War Two he worked with Ray and Charles Eames on moulded-plywood technology. He worked primarily as a sculptor from the mid-1950s onwards. His sculpture was prominently featured in many…


    Read More →

  • Brian Anthony Asquith (1930 – 2008) British silversmith

    Brian Anthony Asquith (1930 – 2008) British silversmith

    Brian Asquith (1930 – 2008) was one of the principal figures in British silversmithing during the 20th century, now regarded as the industry’s heroic age. Read More →


    Read More →

  • Georg Arthur Jensen silverware designer and manufacturer

    Georg Arthur Jensen silverware designer and manufacturer

    Georg Jensen was a Danish metalworker. He was born in Faavad. He was apprenticed as a goldsmith. cl895-1901, he studied sculpture, Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi, Copenhagen. Read More →


    Read More →

  • Alma Eikerman (1908 – 1995) American jewellery designer and silversmith

    Alma Eikerman (1908 – 1995) American jewellery designer and silversmith

    Alma Eikerman (1908 – 1995) was an American jewellery designer and silversmith. Eikerman was born in Pratt, Kansas, and graduated from Kansas State College in Emporia with a B.Sc. in 1934 and an M.Sc. in 1942. Read More →


    Read More →

  • Anatomy of a Hallmark 🤔

    Anatomy of a Hallmark 🤔

    A hallmark is a symbol or device struck at an assay office on gold or silver, indicating that article conforms to legal standards of manufacture established by the monarch, local guilds, government etc. Literally, mark applied at Goldsmith’s Hall (London assay office since 1300) but extended to cover e.g. all five stamps found on Victorian…


    Read More →

  • Fred G. Minuth (1884 – 1966)  American Silversmith

    Fred G. Minuth (1884 – 1966) American Silversmith

    Fred G. Minuth was an American Silversmith. He was professionally active in Chicago.Read More →


    Read More →

  • Erna Zarges-Dürr (1907-2002) – German silversmith

    Erna Zarges-Dürr (1907-2002) – German silversmith

    Erna Zarges-Dürr (1907-2002) was a German silversmith. She was professionally active Pforzheim, Leipzig, Berlin. and Stuttgart. Between 1924-27, she trained at Bruckmann und Söhne, Heilbronn, as the first women in the silversmiths’ department. From 1927, she studied at the Kunstgewerbeschule, Pforzheim, under Theodor Wende and others. Read More →


    Read More →

  • Franz Rickert (1904-1991) German Silversmith

    Franz Rickert (1904-1991) German Silversmith

    He worked as a silversmith from 1926 and became one of the most important silversmiths in Munich and an outstanding enameler. 1935-72, he taught at the Staatsschule (later Akademie) fur angewandte Kunst in Munich. In the 1950s and 1960s, he designed numerous religious objects.Read More →


    Read More →

  • Helicon Vase symbolises music and poetry

    Helicon Vase symbolises music and poetry

    A Helicon vase is a centrepiece named after Mount Helicon in Greece. It was sacred to the ancient Greek muses. Read More →


    Read More →

  • Arno Malinowki (1899 – 1976) Danish sculptor and metalworker

    Arno Malinowki (1899 – 1976) Danish sculptor and metalworker

    His jewellery designs of a kneeling deer, a dolphin in the rushes, and butterflies on a flower, which he created in 1937, were produced for many years. In 1940, he created the ‘Kingmark’ to commemorate King Christian’s seventieth birthday. It was mass-produced and worn by Danes to demonstrate their allegiance to Denmark and opposition to…


    Read More →

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.