Large Champagne Cooler In Solid Austro-hungarian Silver 800 Thousandths, Late 19th Century

Large champagne cooler in solid Austro-Hungarian silver 800 thousandths, late 19th century

Important solid Austro-Hungarian silver champagne cooler from the late 19th century, remarkable for both its size and exceptional weight. This high-quality piece features elegant decoration entirely revolving around the winegrowing theme, with rich friezes of vine leaves and bunches of grapes finely engraved and repoussé, in a particularly refined goldsmith's work.

It is a very fine piece of silver.

Resting on a broadly molded pedestal adorned with stylized plant decoration, the body adopts an elegant baluster shape embellished with two moving side grips. The wide flared neck is sumptuously decorated with a naturalistic frieze of vine shoots in high relief, executed with great precision.

This model features an ingenious double-wall system patented by the English in the 19th century: the ice cubes are placed in the inner peripheral space while the bottle takes its place in the central cylinder. This process effectively refreshes champagne without direct contact with ice or melt water, keeping the bottle perfectly chilled without getting wet when serving at the table.

Thanks to its 13 cm inner diameter, this cooler can accommodate both a classic bottle of champagne and a magnum.

The inner cylinder is made of silver-plated metal, while the outer assembly is made of solid 800 thousandths silver. The object bears an Austro-Hungarian hallmark, as well as an unidentified silversmith's hallmark beginning with the letter "A" in a triangle.

At the same time, it is made of solid silver.

With its unusual weight, sculptural presence and rich decoration, this rafraîchissoir makes an important display piece for a refined table or goldsmith's collection.

Features:

• Epoque: late 19th century
• Origin: Austro-Hungary
• Material: solid silver 800 thousandths and silver-plated inner cylinder
• Embossed and engraved decoration of vine leaves and bunches of grapes
• Double-wall system for cooling without direct contact with ice
• Suitable for classic champagne bottle and magnum
• Austro-Hungarian punch
• Unidentified goldsmith's hallmark: letter "A" in a triangle
• Net weight of silver: 2.584 kg
• Total weight: 3.328 kg
• Height: 28 cm
• Maximum diameter: 30 cm
• Inner diameter for bottle: 13 cm