All types of silver, from flatware to service pieces, naturally speak to special occasions with all their shine and richness. Beloved collections, often handed down and pulled into service, fill our tables and our rooms. And perhaps the star of the holiday season is silver in the dramatic repoussé style with its surface almost completely covered with intricate flowers and other detailing. Repoussé from the French, meaning “pushed back,” refers to any type of ornamentation in which the design is raised in relief on the reverse or interior side of the metal material at hand. While smiths extensively practiced the technique throughout history, the word’s first known use appeared in the early 1800s as silversmiths in America thoroughly embraced the method.
An antique monogrammed footed repoussé silver serving tray brings a formal note to any occasion (Kirk Stieff).
Victorians loved their silver, so repoussé manufacturers were quick to introduce pieces to meet every possible need at the table. Intimate knowledge of all the designs was a necessary social skill during that time. TOP ROW: Berry, pickle, and oyster forks. SECOND ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT: Cold meat, bacon, asparagus, large and medium lemon, and lettuce forks (all by Jenkins & Jenkins, S. Kirk & Son, and Kirk Stieff).
Repoussé flatware for serving fish shows of intricate pierced detailing on the blade and tines (Kirk Stieff).
An antique footed repoussé centerpiece has an elegant gold-wash treatment inside the bowl (Tiffany & Co.).
Repoussé elevates any surface it touches. A beautiful compote shines next to a bread and butter plate (both S. Kirk & Son) and an antique blunt knife (Jenkins & Jenkins) on a weathered table.
Antique repoussé silver napkin clips and a napkin ring dress up linens at the table (S. Kirk & Son).
A Victorian lady’s vanity table might display a collection of repoussé pieces as well. All are antique: hand mirror (Jenkins & Jenkins); brush (Gorham); powder jar with the monogram “Edmonia” (Gorham); and monogrammed dresser jar in Rose pattern (S. Kirk & Son).
These serving spoons are specially designed for the task at hand. The berry, bonbon, and nut spoons—in all three sizes—include a charming pattern of fruit and ora in the bowl. The small one sits on a serving piece with a completely at bowl used for hotcakes. The tomato spoon is also at with a pierced bowl, and the smaller spoons are for demitasse and for baby (all spoons by S. Kirk & Son and Kirk Stieff ).
Repoussé silver came into popularity during the rococo revival period in decorative arts. Silversmiths nationwide used the technique, but Baltimore was its greatest champion. The silversmiths there created a regional style featuring masses of repoussé flowers with chased details. (Chasing is opposite to repoussé, as it refines the front of the piece, and the two techniques are often used together). Known today as “Baltimore repoussé,” Samuel Kirk introduced this type of decoration in 1828. It was thoroughly copied soon after, but unlike his competitors, Kirk’s iconic pattern, simply called Repoussé, is still made today under the name Kirk Stieff.
And while America fell under the spell of neoclassicism, art nouveau, and other decorative styles, repoussé silver—outfitted in its rococo glory—has never fallen out of favor. When accounting for the style’s longevity, writer Jack Tanis noted the following in an article for Silver magazine: “What you see is what you get, and what you get is an eyeful of pretty—drippingly saturated pretty.”
“Everyone should have at least one piece of Kirk’s Repoussé. It’s so ornate that it goes with everything. It’s an iconic American flatware pattern that has been loved and celebrated for generations.”—Mimi Bremer Woodruff, Beverly Bremer Silver Shop
Repousse silver is sterling silver (or other metal) that has a raised or relief design hammered in from the backside of the piece. Sometimes the back displays the hammered design, other times the hammered design has been filled in and is solid.
The name repoussé is derived from the French pousser, “to push forward.” This ancient technique, which has been used extensively throughout the history of metalworking, achieved widespread popularity in Europe during the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries.
Repoussé from the French, meaning “pushed back,” refers to any type of ornamentation in which the design is raised in relief on the reverse or interior side of the metal material at hand.
It was largely due to Samuel Kirk that Baltimore became the centre of American repousse silver. In 1828, Kirk introduced a highly ornate floral pattern which he called Repousse. Completely unlike the plain colonial-styled patterns popular at the time, Repousse was an instant hit.
Sterling silver and silver look exactly the same, and if you have silver jewelry, it's most likely sterling. The best indicator is the marking, or hallmark, stamped on in small numbers or letters. Sterling silver will have a 925 or STER, and fine silver will have a 999 or FS.
Repoussé (French: [ʁəpuse]) or repoussage ([ʁəpusaʒ]) is a metalworking technique in which a malleable metal is shaped by hammering from the reverse side to create a design in low relief. Chasing (French: ciselure) or embossing is a similar technique in which the piece is hammered on the front side, sinking the metal.
Chasing is the opposite technique to repoussé, and the two are used in conjunction to create a finished piece. Whilst repoussé is used to work on the reverse of the metal to form a raised design on the front, chasing is used to refine the design on the front of the work by sinking the metal.
Chasing is an artistic technique used by jewelers to punch designs into the top portion of a metal piece of jewelry, causing the punched piece of metal to sink in. This jewelry technique has been used for many years.
Chasing involves hammering from the front face of the metal, inwards and is used in conjunction with the opposite technique, Repoussé, which involves hammering from the underside side of the metal, outwards. This technique was sometimes used to decorate the silver lids of the dressing case fittings.
Both repoussé and chasing can be worked on all the conventional jewelry metals with ease, of course suggesting the more malleable metals as the best candidates. High karat gold, fine silver and copper respond very well, while pale brass, nickel silver and steel require greater effort.
Most repousse sterling silver pieces were hand hammered, embossed and even gently pressed from the reverse side, but some, like flatware, were made using a press mold. However, the antique silver markings would be stamped onto each valuable piece.
Embossing is made in the opposite way of repoussé; instead of working the backside of the material like with repoussé, the artist works the metal from the front of the object when embossing. Try to spot the difference between the repoussé along the edges and the embossing on the face.
Repousse is a word derived from the French meaning, "driven back", that is to say, it is a decoration of metal by means of driving back parts of that metal and raising others so that the design stands out in relief. This art reaches back in man's history to the Assyrians, Phoenicians, and other oriental people.
Kirk is a boy's name of Old Norse origin, kirkja, meaning “church.” It's also the word for “church” in Scots, where the Scottish national church is informally referred to as The Kirk.
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