Antique Art - Blog.htm

A strong word of Caution when you Buy from French Sellers. Ask Questions about Condition. The same applies in the USA. More and more Sellers are intentionally or inadvertently NOT giving CONDITION Details, so, insist on an Exact Condition Report. Careful with Sellers who refer to their PHotos as the Condition. For example, eBay #270736699543 'LESS THAN normal signs of age and use' is a perfect Example of telling you Nothing about the Condition. Do Not rely on the Seller's Photos which are Misleading at best....Look carefully at Dimensions, sometimes given in Millimeters, mm or Centimeters, cm. 'Feedback' on Sellers is a Buyer's first inside look at a Seller, so look at Feedback carefully before bidding. Sellers who split 'Sets' of anything, increase the Risk of your Not getting the complete Set, e.g. 2 auctions for 6 Cups or, 6 Spoons each. Simple 'Precautions' will save you untold Headaches.

Avoid Bidding against yourself by repeatedly adding to your Bid as if that will deter someone else from Bidding. Wrong!

Dec 29, 2011, ***eBay item # 280793376749. Mary, if you look carefully at the Details in the Description, this is NOT a Pair, rather 2 spoons made at different Dates by different Silversmiths. Don't pay the premium for a Pair. Misleading Description at best.

BEWARE of 'Deceitful Descriptions' e.g. 'Some very minor Blemishes', which turned out to be Dents, dings and an Old Repair. see Item#300439985201 or, 'Condition as Expected'.....

Avoid a Seller Whose Condition Report consists of the item being in 'Good Condition as far as He or She is concerned.

See #200447570504 these Knife Rests are NOT Christofle, read his misleading description + I have questioned the Seller + SEE item #350325546991, this is NOT Sterling Silver, rather, Silver Plate. + I have questioned the Seller.

***Joyce, BEWARE Item #260542326486. These Christofle are NOT Sterling, but rather Silver Plate,

***Alice, BEWARE Item #390135773618. They are NOT solid Silver, Not 800, but rather Silver Plate,

***Maria, Wine Taster Item #380140982296 is Not Sterling, it is. Plated Silver for $270? Be patient,

Wine Taster Item #380140982296 ASK who is the SILVERSMITH + COUNTRY OF ORIGIN, Could be Mexican!! DON'T BUY STERLING WITHOUT 'HALLMARKS'. SELLERS who describe 'Condition' as "See Photos" or "Good" or "Normal silver-plating wear" means Nothing! Ask for Exact Condition, after all, you are NOT buying the Photos..
****************** Item #140350837774 is NOT STERLING Susan, it does not have French Silver Hallmarks. Item #300363786236 Described & Sold as 18thCentury. NOT SO! Someone told Seller it was 18th C and some poor eBayer pd $500 *** SELLER is Selling FAKES along with Genuine Examples. READ Descriptions & Ask Questions. Definitely NOT GALLIA nor Christofle + Not signed! BEWARE! *** Item #220386718578 is NOT by either Gallia or Christofle!! *** Item #220396958957 SELLERS like this one that tells you to READ his 'misleading' Description as his way of answering a Qestion about his Description, should be Avoided!!! *** Item #220386718578 is NOT by either Gallia or Christofle!! *** on eBay, try to ONLY Buy with Paypal unless you know the Seller or, good luck! SELLERS use STERLING for English, Continental, German & Spanish SILVER and that is a 'misuse' of the Word, Sterling must have at least .925 parts Silver to be called STERLING. Please check Seller's FEEDBACK, If others have had problems with a Seller, what makes you think you are different, so ask questions!

CHRISTOFLE, History / Christofle & Cie
Manufacturer : Christofle & Cie
There are the six generations of the family that succeeded each other from the company's founding in 1830 to the present day.

1st generation: Charles Christofle ( 1805 - 1863 )
2nd generation: Henri Bouilhet ( 1830 - 1910
3rd generation: André Bouilhet ( 1865 - 1932 )
4th generation: Tony Bouilhet ( 1897 - 1984 )
5th generation: Albert Bouilhet ( 1929 - )
6th generation: Maurizio Borletti ( 1967 - )

ODIOT Silversmiths Paris France was purchased by BOULENGER Silversmiths in 1906.

** One sees all too often in a Description the Noun 'RARE' which has acquired a Secondary Connotation and one should remember the Definition offered by Merriam Webster - "marked by unusual quality, merit or appeal - Distinctive, Uncommon". As well, Sellers descibe an item as 'Museum Quality' which is all well and good for them, but in reality disregard such Descriptions!

** SALT which is Sodium Chloride, as a Mineral it is essential for Animal life yet is Toxic to most land plants. CAREFUL leaving it in your Silver Salt Cellars, this increases the risk of corrosion. This is why Salt Cellars have been Gilded or have interior Glass or Crystal Liners. Don't leave Salt between the Liner and Salt Cellar. Have you tried Salt from France, Hawaii, New Zealand?

** The Name, Art Deco, is derived from the Famous Exposition des Arts Décoratifs which was held in Paris, France in 1925 and brought about the 2nd Revival of Art following the Art Nouveau Period.

** The famous and often infamous acid engraved BACCARAT Hallmark only came into existence circa 1936 and before that, Baccarat used stick on Lables with a similar hallmark. These latter labels were lost, washed off, removed etc. and some unsrupulous people use them to deceive. SEE an Example of the Hallmarks under Crystal & Glass. BEWARE!!!

** The term "Sterling Silver" emerged in England by the 13th century. The minimum Sterling Silver Standard within the U.K. has been historically set at the STERLING standard (92.5 %) purity and this is represented by the Lion, either PASSANT for English or Lion RAMPANT for Scottish. BEWARE of MEXICAN Silver on eBay with just a '925' Mark, which alone, is not a Hallmark & does NOT necessarily mean Sterling Silver! THE USA & Canada uses 92.5% for their minimum Sterling Content!

Britannia silver is an alloy of Silver containing 95.84% Silver. This Standard of Silver, was introduced in England by Act of Parliament in 1697 to replace Sterling Silver as the obligatory standard for items of Silver. The Lion Passant Gardant Hallmark denoting Sterling was replaced with "the figure of a woman commonly called Britannia", and the Leopard's Head Mark of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths was replaced with a "Lion's Head Erased". Britannia standard silver was first introduced by the British government as part of the great Recoinage Scheme of William III from 1696, when attempts were made to limit the clipping and melting of Sterling Silver Coinage. It was thought that by maintaining a higher standard for Silver there would be less incentive to put the newly issued Sterling Coins in the melting pot. Sterling silver was approved again for use by Silversmiths from 1 June 1720, and thereafter Britannia Silver has remained an optional standard for silver assay in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Since the Hallmarking changes of 1 January 1999, Britannia Silver has been denoted by the millesimal fineness hallmark '958', with the Symbol of Britannia being applied optionally.

Sevres Porcelain traces its roots in France to early craftsmen who had small manufacturing operations in such places as Lille, Rouen. St. Cloud, and most notably Chantilly. It is from Chantilly that a cadre of workers migrated to the Chateau de Vincennes near Paris to form a larger porcelain manufactory in 1738. French King Louis XV, perhaps inspired by his rumored relationship with mistress Madame de Pompadour, took an intense interest in porcelain and moved the operation in 1756 to even larger quarters in the Paris suburb of Sevres. Sevres was also conveniently near the home of Madame de Pompadour and the King's own Palace at Versailles.

From the outset the king's clear aim was to produce Sevres Porcelain that surpassed the established Saxony works of Meissen and Dresden. Though the French lacked an ample supply of kaolin, a required ingredient for hard-paste porcelain (pate dure), their soft-paste porcelain (pate tendre) was fired at a lower temperature and was thus compatible with a wider variety of colors and glazes that in many cases were also richer and more vivid. Unglazed white Sevres Porcelain "biscuit" figurines were also a great success. However, soft-paste Sevres Porcelain was more easily broken. Therefore, early pieces of Sevres Porcelain that remain intact have become rare indeed.

About the time when Napoleon Bonaparte named himself Emperor of France (1804), a new director was named for the Sevres Porcelain Manufactory. Alexandre Brongniart, highly educated in many fields, resurrected Sevres Porcelain. Soft-paste porcelain was eliminated altogether thanks to the earlier discovery of kaolin near Limoges. For 4 decades until his death, Brongniart presided over monumental progress for Sevres Porcelain, catering not only to Napoleon himself, but at last to include the more financially profitable mid-priced market in the emerging middle class.

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