Gallia-christofle-napoleon III Fruit Bowl

Born in the 20th century, at the time of the famous 1900 World’s Fair in Paris, the Gallia Collection takes its name from a metal alloy that defined its era.
Gallia, a name that refers to “Gaulle,” whose hallmark and symbol would be the rooster, thus once again celebrating French innovation.This material has left its mark on Christofle’s history. Of exceptional quality and greater hardness for table silverware, it has the advantage of being solid, lasting longer, and being cast in a steel mold rather than hammered. Very quickly, Gallia served as a laboratory of ideas for Christofle, producing collections with bold, modern styles, at a time when tableware and the decorative arts in general had been endlessly repeating Louis XVI motifs and designs from the 18th and 19th centuries since 1850.This marked the advent of Art Nouveau, which brought Nature—a stylized Nature—back to the forefront of taste. In its wake, the 20th century would see an explosion of new styles, from Art Deco to Modernism. The Gallia collection allows Christofle’s fine silverware to experiment with new forms.Beginning in 1900, extraordinary artists and designers came together under the name Gallia and the auspices of Christofle to create collaborative pieces bearing the rooster hallmark, which for a century became the symbol of the avant-garde