Oval Centerpiece In Solid Silver 800/1000 Decorated With Cherubs, Austro-hungarian Work.

Oval-shaped solid silver 800/1000 table center with cherub decoration, Austro-Hungarian work circa 1860

Description

Oval-shaped solid silver 800/1000 table center, Austro-Hungarian work circa 1860. This elegant piece of silverware is distinguished by the richness of its openwork rocaille decoration, the finesse of its chasing and the quality of its carving.

The basin features an abundantly worked decoration composed of moving cartouches, openwork trellis reserves and finely executed plant motifs. The scalloped border elegantly emphasizes the overall lines and contributes to the decorative balance of this refined composition.

The table centerpiece rests on four remarkable winged cherubs treated as caryatids. These sculpted figures, with their high quality of modelling, harmoniously support the basin and testify to the expertise of the Austro-Hungarian Empire's silversmith workshops in the mid-19ᵉ century.

The combination of particularly elaborate rocaille decoration, delicate openwork and richly detailed carving gives this piece a remarkable decorative presence. Intended to adorn reception tables, this centerpiece perfectly illustrates the taste for richly chased work that characterized Central European goldsmiths of this period.

Bearing a goldsmith's hallmark with the initials VN, as yet unidentified, this elegant centerpiece is a fine example of the quality of production in the Austro-Hungarian workshops of the XIXᵉ century.

Features

• Material: solid silver 800/1000

• Origin: Austro-Hungarian Empire

• Era: circa 1860

• Smith's hallmark: initials VN, unidentified

• Shape: oval

• Decor: openwork rocaille, cartouches and vegetal motifs

• Framework: four winged cherubs forming caryatids

• Length: 35 cm

• Width: 26 cm

• Height: 11.5 cm

• Weight: 1,411 g

• Condition: very good