Antique Silver Sauce & Gravy Boats
The elegant silver sauce boat — raised on feet, with a shaped lip and scroll handle — graced the Georgian and Victorian dinner table, often in pairs with matching ladles. A guide to identifying, dating, valuing and selling antique silver sauce and gravy boats in the UK.
What Are Your Silver Sauce Boats Worth?
Send a photo — including the marks underneath — and we'll value them free, with no obligation. We reply within one working day.
A silver sauce boat is a small masterpiece of form — the helmet-shaped bowl, the flying scroll handle, the shaped rim and three cabriole legs ending in hoof or shell feet. Made from the early 18th century and almost always intended in pairs, good Georgian examples by named makers are among the most desirable pieces of dining silver.
Silver sauce & gravy boats: what they are
A sauce boat (or gravy boat) is a low, boat-shaped silver vessel with a pouring lip, a scroll handle and usually three feet, used to serve sauces and gravy. Classic Georgian forms stand on hoof or shell-and-hoof feet with a shaped, gadrooned rim; later examples may have an oval foot. They were made in pairs (sometimes fours), often with matching sauce ladles. Named makers such as Paul Storr and crisp casting lift value. Browse our silver collection for examples.
What collectors look for
Pairs & ladles
Matched pairs, especially with original matching sauce ladles, far outvalue singles.
Named makers
Paul Storr and noted Georgian makers carry a strong premium; check the marks underneath.
Georgian form
Helmet bowls on hoof or shell feet with gadrooned rims over plain later oval-foot boats.
Weight & condition
Heavy-gauge silver, firm handles and feet, no splits, repairs or pushed bodies.
What are antique silver sauce boats worth?
Value depends on maker, date, weight and whether they are pairs:
Indicative only — your boats depend on maker, hallmark date, weight, pair and condition. Send a photo for a free, accurate valuation.
What Determines Value
The factors we assess on silver sauce boats:
- Pair — Matched pairs, ideally with ladles, over singles.
- Maker — Paul Storr and noted makers over unmarked pieces.
- Date — Georgian examples most collected; the hallmark dates it.
- Form — Helmet bowls on hoof/shell feet, gadrooned rims.
- Weight — Heavy-gauge silver carries more value.
- Condition — Firm handles and feet, no splits or repairs.
Marks are underneath or near the rim — look for the lion passant for sterling. Plate is marked EPNS.
How to identify and date your sauce boats
Turn each boat over and look underneath (and near the rim) for the lion passant (sterling), town mark, date letter and maker's mark; on a pair, both should match, and any ladles ideally match too. Plated boats stamped EPNS are worth far less — see our EPNS vs sterling silver guide. The date letter dates them — use our how to read silver hallmarks guide. As pairs carry weight, the silver price valuation guide sets a metal-value baseline.
Sauce boats sit with the rest of the dining silver. See our guides to cruet & condiment sets, Paul Storr silver and browse our silver for sale. When you're ready to sell, visit sell your silver.
Value Your Sauce Boats
Send photographs of the boats and the marks underneath, and we'll give you an honest, no-obligation valuation.
⚠️ Strictly by appointment only — no walk-ins at either showroom.
Frequently Asked Questions
Antique silver sauce and gravy boats — common questions.
What is a silver sauce boat?
A low, boat-shaped silver vessel with a pouring lip, scroll handle and usually three feet, used to serve sauces and gravy. Made from the early 18th century, almost always in pairs.
How much are antique silver sauce boats worth?
From near scrap silver for a plain single up to a strong premium for Georgian pairs, named makers and sets with matching ladles. Maker, date, weight and pair decide. Send a photo for a free valuation.
Is a gravy boat the same as a sauce boat?
Effectively yes — the terms are used interchangeably for the same boat-shaped serving vessel. "Sauce boat" is the more common antique trade term.
Are pairs worth more than singles?
Yes, significantly. Sauce boats were made in pairs, so a matched pair — and especially a pair with its original ladles — is far more valuable than a single boat.
How do I tell sterling from plate?
Look for the lion passant hallmark underneath. Plated boats are marked EPNS or A1 and are worth far less. Send a photo of the marks and we'll confirm.
Where can I sell antique silver sauce boats in the UK?
Mozeris Fine Antiques are specialist silver buyers with showrooms in Mayfair, London and Braintree, Essex. We offer free, no-obligation valuations — send photos or visit by appointment.
Send Us Your Photographs
Attach photos of the sauce boats and the marks underneath. We'll respond within one working day.