Lovely antique French Napoleon I to Louis XVIII era 6pc sterling silver luncheon sized flatware set, a 3pc setting for two with seashell accented pattern! I'm currently working on a few smaller one and two person place settings, pieces that we've collected over the years and thought we might as well offer them here. This set originally came to us from France as the four pieces, the knives from another set but the seashells on all work wonderfully together. Remnants of vermeil, or gold plating, on the forks and spoons visible so they may originally have been part of a larger dessert service but the size is perfect for a tete-a-tete luncheon. Forks and spoons bear the French Minerva hallmark, the tiny number "1" within means they're in .950 silver (95% pure and above the .925 standard for "sterling" silver). The silversmith marks on them are for J. Bourdon, Paris circa first quarter 1800s. Hallmarks on the knives are a bit older and date them to 1819-1838.
Very good condition. As you can see, there is extensive loss of the vermeil with some surface scratching. I had thought to wheel polish the remainder off, bringing them back to just the sterling finish but decided I'd leave that to the buyer. Some knife marks on the fork tines, tiny hairline splits visible in the ebony or ebonized wood handles on the knives. See pictures for measurements.
