Household silver (the silver) comprises dishware, cutlery and other household items made of sterling silver, usually bought in sets or combined to form sets, such as a set of silver candlesticks or a silver tea service. Some dishware Dishware is a general term for objects—dishes—from which people eat or serve food, such as plates and bowls. ... Starch-polyester disposable cutlery Cutlery refers to any hand utensil used in preparing, serving, and especially eating food. ... Sterling silver is an alloy of silver containing 92. ... This article should be split into multiple articles accessible from a disambiguation page. ... A silver tea service is an expensive tea set. ...

Silver requires a good deal of care, as it tarnishs and must be hand polished, since careless or machine polishing ruins the patina and can completely erode the silver layer in Sheffield plate. The Statue of Liberty gets its green color from the patina formed on its copper surface Patinas are chemical compounds formed on the surface of metals. ... Sheffield plate is a layered combination of silver and copper that was used for many years to produce larger silver goods such as serving trays and teapots. ...

In a great house, the footmen cleaned and polished the silver, overseen by the butler who was responsible for it. In middle-income households the few items of silver or silverplate may be displayed on a buffet or in a cabinet or china cabinet or breakfront, but a larger collection of silver is usually locked away in a secure room or a special silver safe. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A footman is a male household servant. ... // For other uses see Butler (disambiguation) The butler is a senior servant in a large household. ... A sideboard is an item of furniture traditionally used for both storage and display. ... A cabinet is a body of high-ranking members of government, typically representing the executive branch. ...

See also

• Holloware
• Flatware