3 boars heads & "Dread God" on silverplate chafing set

[geldner]

This is a set of two chafing dishes silverplate on really heavy copper. I'm just curious as to who the family might be. Looks Scottish but I can't find anything that quite matches.

Close-up of crest (man with club, helmet, 3 boars heads, Dread God motto):


The lid from the set:


Thanks!

[davidappleton]

An Ordinary of Arms (Scotland) by Sir James Balfour Paul gives the following, which matches the hatching for the arms on your chafing set:

Gordon of Aitkenhead (1806): Azure three boars' heads erased within a bordure engrailed or charged with three escallops sable.

Fairbairn's Crests shows a number of Gordon families using the motto Dread God, and a few (including Gordon of Lochinvar, and Gordon of Buckinghamshire and Nottinghamshire) using the crest A demi-savage wreathed about the head and middle with laurel holding over his shoulder a club, all proper.

I hope this helps!

David

[geldner]

Thanks. My wife found similar info this morning and we actually think we know which Gordon family used it. The crest is very similar to Gordon of Kenmuir in Scotland but it appears to have been used by the Gordon family in Virginia when they owned a small plantation they called Kenmore after Kenmuir. The chafing dishes were purchased by my grandparents in Richmond, VA sometime in the 50's. So it all ties together.

[geldner]

Oh and they appear to be old silverplate, not electroplate. My mother always referred to them as Sheffield but I wonder if they might not be American given the provenance?

[davidappleton]

Oh and they appear to be old silverplate, not electroplate. My mother always referred to them as Sheffield but I wonder if they might not be American given the provenance?

If there are hallmarks on the piece, you ought be able to determine the maker and possibly even date range for it, whether English or American.

The Encyclopedia of American Silver Manufacturers by Dorothy T. Rainwater is a useful reference for American hallmarked silver.

David

[geldner]

There are no hallmarks anywhere that we can find.