Elegant antique French sterling silver solitaire sized oil & vinegar cruet stand, a unique smaller set with gorgeous wheel cut & intaglio engraved claret style decanters with sterling handles & collars, silver stoppers and beautiful reticulated or pierced stand! About the size of perfume bottles, these little decanters are exceptionally made, egg-shaped bottoms with wheel cut facets and the upper portions are covered in an ornate array of vines, flowers & foliage. The silver stand in a Louis XV style with acanthus accents over the cabriole style lets, acanthus accented center handle and bead festooned borders. The interior edging of the bottle holders have a newer braided piping that keeps the bottles from wobbling and I really can't tell for sure but the bottles may not be original to the base. The sterling handles and the base/stand all bear the French Minerve or Minerva hallmark, the tiny number "1" within those marks means they're in .950 silver (95% pure and higher than the .925 standard for "sterling" silver). There are tiny silversmith marks on the stand but I can't quite make them out, possibly LP or DP. I'll try to clean them up a little and do some more searching in our references and add that info if/when found. A gorgeous set!
Very good to excellent condition. As noted, the rope or piping around the inside rims of the stand are later additions or restorations to an earlier fabric. Very slight bending to the base/stand possible but no missing reticulated sections and no repairs to note. The stoppers in each decanter are matching but, again, may not be original. No chips, crack or other damage to either bottle though there may be a tiny nip or two. See pictures for all measurements.
