Elegant Antique French 12pc Dinner Knife Set, Genuine Ivory & Silver Handles

Elegant antique French Napoleon III to Belle Epoque era 12pc 9 3/4" dinner sized knife set, all with gorgeous genuine carved ivory handles and Louis XV style sterling silver caps & collars or ferrules! Aren't these great!  Louis XV style rocaille & tendrils in the silver caps & collars.  Superb!  Of course, with these silver smaller pieces as you see on the ends of the handles, they rarely bear hallmarks but we're certain they're sterling silver. All pieces with the original steel blades, marked by the silversmith "Jules Piault" of Paris. Piault exhibited in the 1878 Paris Exposition Universelle and was awarded gold medals at both the 1879 Sydney and 1880 Melbourne International Exhibitions. Jules Piault was succeeded by Robert Linzeler at 68 rue de Turbigo in Paris in 1897.  A marvelous addition to your fine sterling silver table service, don't miss them!

Meant to compliment a fine set of antique sterling silver dinner flatware and as wonderful as can be. The old knives are always best with antique flatware but they're often hard to find, especially in such presentable shape. A traditional wedding gift, magnificent French sterling silver flatware sets were almost always packaged without knives. Why is this? Another French tradition has to do with the gift of knives or a knife as a symbol of the cutting or ending of a relationship. And no where on earth is tradition more important, perhaps, than to the French culture. So, in light of the symbolism of the gift, knives were not part of a wedding gift, not packaged or even usually made with the matching pattern of the forks, spoons in a set, and are something added later and as compliments to the table's sterling silver choice. And ever the center influence in fashion, this also opportuned the happy result of knives made in coordinating and complimenting fashion with handles. The result is that you can add sets of knives to compliment and define your table setting.

Very good condition. As you can see in the images, there are tarnish and/or corrosion spots on the original steel blades (not stainless) but no real notable damage. A few thin darkened hairline cracks in some handles but no breaks or other damage there and no damage or repairs to the silver caps & collars. The box may not be original but is in fine shape, age considered. See pictures for measurements.

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.