What is it Wednesday?

Somewhere around the 1870s through about 1940 there was a silver and china revolution in America. Americans in the Victorian era were especially enamored with setting a beautiful table. They demanded china and silver that would accommodate every conceivable meal that could be served. There were social conventions that dictated the furnishing of a dining room that often included a rich color, a heavy buffet and/or sideboard with silver on display and a "lavishly appointed table that riveted attention."

Most of us set our table (if you even eat at a table anymore) with a knife, fork and spoon. If we're setting a formal table we might include a salad fork and dessert utensils. The Victorian table, however, had oyster forks, fruit knives, ice cream forks, cream soup or bouillon spoons, fish knives and fish forks, not to mention berry bowls and knife rests and finger bowls and salt cellars. I've read that some silver flatware lines offered up to 100 different types of pieces especially for a hostesses "lavishly appointed table."

This piece is one of the many offerings that probably first became popular in the Victorian era. It's called a hooded asparagus server - not to be confused with asparagus tongs! If you were a well-equipped hostess it would have been used with a special china plate made to serve asparagus.

Did you guess correctly?