Absolutely gorgeous and very rare set of twenty-two antique French Napoleon III to Belle Epoque era table knives, ornate Louis XV pistol grip shaped solid mother of pearl & sterling silver handles and original "Bourdillon, Thiers" marked steel blades! WOW! Are these just about as scrumptious as can be? The pistol grip shape of the handles has long been one of the most popular styles, normally we list this type and they sell immediately. Just in from France, this is a full 12pc in the larger dinner sized 8 5/8" knives but missing two of the smaller entremet, fruit or luncheon sized knives. As we all know, sterling flatware was often given as a wedding gift but never included knives (or rarely did) due to the connotation that giving someone knives was, in a way, a symbol of 'cutting of the friendship'. We've had many sets in the past with no knives and often tried to find suitable antique French knife sets to group with them. This set a guaranteed crowd pleaser, I simply love the pearl handles! Of all, we've had ebony, sterling, horn and more but the mother of pearl has always been my favorite. Not only due to their gorgeous shimmering nature but also the coolness and weight in the hand. An exquisite set here, don't miss them!
Very good condition. No chips, cracks or damage to any of the pearl handles and I see no damage, etc. to the sterling silver caps & collars. All have the original pre-stainless steel blades so there are some age tarnish and/or corrosion marks to some but they're all perfectly usable and have that added charm from their age. See pictures for all measurements.
