326 TABLE EQUIPMENT \/

Flatware. A set of flatware usually consists of dinner knives,
dinner forks, salad or luncheon forks, butter knives, teaspoons, and
soup spoons. A double supply of teaspoons is desirable. The
soup spoon should be of the long-bowl type sometimes called a
dessert spoon which can also be used for cereal or berries. After-
dinner coffee spoons may well be different from the set.

A practical method of gradually acquiring sterling silver is not
to buy six or eight of just one article at one time but to get one
complete place setting, that is, one of each of the articles needed
to set one place.

The bride-to-be who is selecting her flatware pattern has a dif-
ficult task because poor designs are more numerous than good
ones. Knives, forks, and spoons have so little space for decoration
that any design should be very simple. Decoration should follow
the line of the object or should be placed only at structurally im-
portant points, such as the base or top of an article. For example,
a floral motif at the narrow part of the handle of a spoon has no
relation to the shape of the spoon and is therefore poor. Mono-
grams are always appropriate on handles. Beautifully shaped flat-
ware without surface decoration is very desirable; it is appropriate
with any type of table equipment from Early American to Mod-
ern. See the assortment of flatware on page 333.

Hollow Ware. Silver hollow ware has many advantages as well
as disadvantages when compared with china. It is durable, and it
can be used with different sets of dishes, but it does require polish-
ing, and it is valuable enough to need safe keeping. Silver hollow
articles usually help to unify the table, as they repeat the color
and texture of the silver flatware. Salt and pepper shakers, cream
pitchers, sugar bowls, covered vegetable dishes, tea and coffee
pots, water pitchers, carafes, and flower vases are some of the
articles procurable in silver.

The design of the silver hollow ware should be chosen to con-
form to the general style of the dishes with which they are to be
used. Elegant formal appointments suggest tall slender outlines;
robust ideas call for low, broad shapes; and Modern equipment
invites pure geometric forms. Distinctive handmade silver can
sometimes be procured in the shops of outstanding designers like
Georg Jensen. The upper left-hand picture on page 336 displays
an attractive conservative serving dish.