Weighted bases, hollow handles and mixed materials

Look for somewhere water can stay

A heavy object is not necessarily solid silver. A weighted candlestick may have a silver shell around a non-silver filling; a knife can combine a metal blade, a hollow handle and a joining material. A wooden base introduces a different material again.

CCI specifically excludes full immersion for hollow sections and composite objects such as filled candlesticks and silver boxes lined with wood. Inspect seams and attachments before choosing a cleaning method.

• Study the wood-mounted Kirk Stieff horse

Sources: Canadian Conservation Institute.

Construction is only half the decision

An old repair or loose handle can change how safely an object can be moved, even before cleaning starts. Support the main body rather than lifting a substantial piece by a projecting handle or finial.

Water caught in joins or hollow areas can encourage further change. Lifting plating, cracks, persistent moisture or a newly loose blade are reasons for examination, not instructions to add more cleaning liquid.

Sources: Winterthur Museum; National Park Service.

A maker’s dishwasher advice belongs to that maker

Christofle allows dishwasher cleaning for much of its cutlery, with stated exceptions and operating conditions. Its warning that knives made before 1968 should be handwashed concerns its own products. It is not a universal date dividing safe and unsafe knives from every manufacturer.

For inherited or unidentified flatware, establish the pattern, age, materials and condition before applying modern product instructions. Handwashing a suitable solid spoon and soaking a hollow antique knife are different choices.

• Explore flatware construction

Sources: Christofle.

After an ordinary household spill

• Support the piece and photograph what happened before attempting treatment.
• Blot accessible moisture without rubbing grit across the surface. Keep the object supported while you assess it.
• Do not add heat, force parts apart, drill drainage holes or re-immerse a filled or composite object to “flush it out.”
• If liquid appears trapped, a seam opens, a coating lifts or a part becomes loose, contact a qualified conservator or an appropriate maker’s repair service.
• Floodwater may also contain sewage or chemicals. Prioritize personal safety and obtain professional advice rather than treating contamination as an ordinary water mark.

• Newly recovered wet archaeology follows a different path

Sources: Winterthur Museum; National Park Service.

Preserve the finish and the record

Photographs of marks, joins, bases and condition are often more useful than an immediate attempt to achieve a mirror shine. Keep the record with the object. If a vase or display vessel can take a separately supported removable liner, ask a conservator whether that is appropriate; do not force a liner into a fragile opening.

This guide is a screening aid for deciding when to stop and ask. It is not a treatment specification for an unexamined object.

• Make an object record
• Care and conservation references
• Return to Silver and Water