Elegant antique French 48pc table knife set, a 3pc setting for twelve with extras and all with carved genuine ivory handles with sterling silver collars or ferules and kept in the original storage and/or presentation box or chest! Wow, what a beautiful set and quite comprehensive! All kept in the original 2-tier black leatherette storage chest and the set included twelve larger dinner knives and eighteen each in the medium sized luncheon or entremet and silver bladed dessert knives. The sterling blades all bear the French Minerve or Minerva hallmark, the shape and tiny number "2" within those marks means they're in .800 or better silver (80% pure so just under the .925 standard for "sterling" silver). The silversmith marks are for Henin & Cie, Paris circa 1896. The steel blades are marked both "Lebedel Pge Du Gd Cerf No. 46" and "Michel, 6 Rue Vivienne". A lovely set!
Very good condition. There are a few age or drying splits visible in the handles but no breaks or other damage. The steel blades are all pre-stainless so some do have visible age and/or corrosion marks. See pictures for all individual weights and measurements.
The vast majority of worked and antique object tortoise shell material comes from the shells of two species of sea turtles: the hawksbill (Eretmo-chelys imbricata) and, more rarely, the green turtle (see box A). The shells of these turtles exhibit attractive patterns that normally consist of light to dark brown patches, though a homogeneous “cream”-colored variety called blond tortoise shell also exists.
IMPORTANT NOTE regarding antique tortoise shell or ivory: We are great supporters of protection for endangered species in our modern world. We never buy or sell anything 100 years or newer; we donate to anti-poaching organizations; we don't hunt; we conserve in ways that impact global warming (we're totally solar at home), knowing those measures also protect the animals in the wild today. We also recognize the vast cultural history we preserve with our care and reverence for these antique objects, and agree with CITES that objects over 100 years of age have nothing whatsoever to do with species depletion in our current world.
Our offering exceeds the age limitation of "more than 100 years of age", and is well within the exemption for CITES regulation. If imported, met the CITES regulation. This item will be handled and shipped from our Utah business, and is not available for shipment internationally, nor within the USA to California, NY, Nevada, Hawaii, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington if it contains ivory, sorry. Please see our small print for more details.
