Salver
Author: João Coelho de Oliveira
Date: 19th century, 2nd half
Material: White silver
Dimensions (cm): H 3 x D 21
Provenance: Unknown
Inventory No.: MAS O 194
Salver, used to put notes, resting on three feet in the shape of a claw. The edge and the bottom are decorated with phytomorphic motifs.
The probable origin of the word salver is attributable to an expression by Bluteau (1728), referring to the act of pouring liquid into a salver for the carver to taste it before the prince, thus saving him from all treachery and poison: “The piece of gold, silver or of other material, over which one serves the lord the vessel, from which he will drink. In the past, fazer a salva or tomar a salva, was a ceremony in the palaces of Princes. When one served the Prince with the drink, the Carver poured some of the liquid from the vessel to this sort of little plate. The Carver drank that portion and this ritual was called Tomar a salva because with that caution it was understood that the lord was safe from all treachery and poison; and from this derived the name of the piece used to serve the vessel: Salver.”
There are several types and uses for these pieces, but, later, they became a decorative element in the rooms of noblemen, that is to say, exquisite pieces.