Silver Canteens of Cutlery

AC Silver is pleased to offer a fine range of antique silver canteens of cutlery for sale.

The diverse canteen collection ranges from boxed flatware to cutlery supplied in felt rolls, including examples from the Victorian and Edwardian eras and sets designed in Art Nouveau and Art Deco styles.

Enjoy browsing our silver canteen collection above.

What is a canteen of cutlery?

A ‘canteen’ is a British word for a box or chest containing cutlery and other flatware utensils. A ‘canteen’ is also synonymous with a collection of the utensils themselves.

Boxed Flatware Services

If your silver flatware or cutlery is fitted to a canteen box it can increase the services value, in addition to being a very aesthetically pleasing way to present and store each piece. Here at AC Silver, we have an impressive collection of boxed canteens of cutlery, visible above. For those services which don’t include a box, anti-tarnishing felt rolls are provided for storage and safe keeping of your cutlery.

Canteen Pieces

At AC Silver we have canteens ranging from a basic table service containing the more typical pieces such as table fork, table knife and teaspoons to the more comprehensive services containing in excess of 100 pieces. Such sets will include more extravagant serving pieces such as tongs, silver ladles, carving sets and grape shears.

Place Settings

The number of place settings is an important factor when looking to purchase a canteen of cutlery. The minimum size service we have available for sale is for six persons.

You can search our collection above by the 'persons' filter on the left of this page.

Flatware Patterns

One factor which is very personable yet important when deciding on which service to purchase the flatware pattern. Here at AC Silver, we have a wide selection of patterns available; including the popular Kings pattern, Queens pattern, Old English pattern, Hanoverian pattern and many more.

You can browse our collection by ‘pattern’ filters on the left-hand side of this page.

A Straight Service

When you see canteens described as "straight", this means all the pieces are made by the same maker in the same year. This implies the service was crafted together and note separated or added to over time.

Predominately all antique silver canteens have replacement knives as the originals have not stood the test of time.

Learn more about flatware history