Andrew Ellicott Warner Antique Sterling Silver Butter Dish, Baltimore, MD, c. 1840

This wonderful butter dish, sometimes referred to as a butter cooler, is a stunning example. The sides of the body have a stippled background and wonderful repoussé foliage, including melon and pineapple - the pineapple being a symbol of hospitality.

The round tub with two small, loop handles contains its original insert pierced with circles to form a star. The cover is repoussed with foliage, birds, and containers with fruit. The cover handle is beautifully cast swan clutching a snake in its beak. One cartouche is engraved with an armorial with the motto 'VIRTUTIS FORTUNA COMES' (Fortune favors the brave).

This magnificent covered dish is marked underneath 'A.E. Warner in a serrated punch along with the Baltimore sterling mark of 11.2. It measures 7 inches across the handles by 5 inches high, weighs 22.25 troy ounces and is in excellent antique condition with light wear to the highlights.