Victorian Silver Serving Tray by Mappin & Webb

• Chasing - The method of decorating gold and silver objects using a punch and hammer so that the design appears in relief. Flat or surface chasing is done from the front giving the item definition, but not cutting into the metal.
  
  Chasing is the opposite technique to repousse, but an object that has repousse work, may then have chasing applied to create a finished piece.
• Victorian Period - The Victorian period of furniture and decorative arts design covers the reign of Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1901. There was not one dominant style of furniture in the Victorian period. Designers used and modified many historical styles such as Gothic, Tudor, Elizabethan, English Rococo, Neoclassical and others, although use of some styles, such as English Rococo and Gothic tended to dominate the furniture manufacture of the period.
  
  The Victorian period was preceded by the Regency and William IV periods, and followed by the Edwardian period, named for Edward VII (1841 ? 1910) who was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India for the brief period from 1901 until his death in 1910.

This item has been included into following indexes:

• Mappin & Webb (England) - silver, maker or retailer 205
• trays, silver - silver, Victorian 172