The cake stand is now considered to be an essential part of the ritual of afternoon tea, but it wasn’t until around 1900 that the teared cake stand was introduced. The idea of the cake stand was to provide some grandeur to the table while accommodating the sandwiches, cakes and scones that had become popular at these social events, with guests invited to serve themselves, starting at the bottom level and working their way up to the top. The majority are made in silver plate, however occasionally rare sterling silver examples can be found.