Exquisite & rare antique French sterling silver double open salt or sweetmeat caddy PAIR with 18k gold "vermeil" interiors, scrolling foliate decoration, mascaron style lion's head accents and fabulous condition! I just love these, someone better snap them up fast or I'll decide that they really belong here with my collection. Thick & heavy silver, each bears the French Minerve or Minerva hallmark in several places, the tiny number "1" within those marks means they're in .950 silver (95% pure and higher than the .925 standard for "sterling" silver). I see no silversmith marks but that would lead me to believe that they were special commissioned pieces rather than a mass manufactured set. Truly remarkable, both visually and in their magnificent detail!
Very good condition. One piece has some dark spots visible to the vermeil or gold plated interior but they're both near pristine otherwise. Just over seven troy ounces or 218 grams total. See pictures for measurements.
