12 Forks And Spoons Liège 1728-1730, Coat Of Arms Of Thé Piret De Sainte-ode Family

Extremely rare series of table cutlery in solid silver from the Louis XV period with Liège hallmarks 1727-28 and 1728-29. They are in fact two half-dozen place settings made one year apart by two different Liège silversmiths. Six forks and six spoons bear François Dupont's maker's mark and the letter-date D for the year 1727-28. Six spoons and five forks bear the goldsmith's mark of Charles Debouny senior and the letter E for the year 1728-29. A fork bears the hallmarks of Liège for the year 1752 and has probably been ordered as a replacement. They are all engraved with the splendid period coat of arms of the Piret de Sainte-Ode family. This family of extremely wealthy entrepreneurs is well known to lovers of Liège silverware because their coat of arms appears on several masterpieces of goldsmithing in the city of Liege . They can be found in particular on the sumptuous series of four bowls on the cover of the reference book "Orfèvrerie civile ancienne du pays de Liège" by Professor Colman. This dynasty of steel entrepreneurs and forest owners played a very important economic role in the present province of Luxembourg for more than a century and a half. The wonderful castle they built in Lavacherie was totally destroyed over the centuries.