Baccarat — Important Gilt-silver And Cut-crystal Centrepiece, Empire Style — 19th Century

BACCARAT
Important silver-gilt centrepiece with a cut-crystal receptacle decorated with broad, flat ribs. The square base, resting on four stylised swan feet, supports a circular stemmed bowl encircled by a frieze of water leaves. The upper section is surmounted by a lid topped with a pine-cone finial and flanked by two tall, raised handles decorated in relief with vine branches, leaves and bunches of grapes.
Silver hallmarks beneath the mount.
Nineteenth century, Empire / Restoration style.
Total gross weight: 1.825 kg
H_35 cm W_22 cm
Good overall condition.

Following the tradition of the great royal and imperial silversmithing services—such as the works of Martin-Guillaume Biennais and Jean-Baptiste-Claude Odiot—silver covered with a layer of fine-gold gilding, or vermeil, represented the height of luxury for nineteenth-century ceremonial tableware. Reflecting the glow of candlelight, it lent brilliance and prestige to grand diplomatic and bourgeois dinners.

This piece is distinguished by an especially rich and coherent ornamental vocabulary. The vine branches, foliage and bunches of grapes covering the tall, scrolled handles directly evoke the art of the table and the celebration of wine, with mythological associations. The sculpted pine-cone finial—an ancient symbol of immortality and abundance—completes the crowning element of the lid.

Baccarat produced a range of nineteenth-century cut-crystal centrepieces combined with elaborate silvered or silver-gilt mounts, including examples in Empire and French Restoration styles