Art Nouveau Set Of 12 Silver Knife Rests By Cardeilhac~Sold~

Elegant Antique French Silver Art Nouveau Knife Holders by Cardeilhac.

This lovely Set of 12 knife holders is decorated is purely Art Nouveau Style with a simple décor mimicking a turning floral sprig.
The knife holders became more popular towards the middle of the 19th Century, the symbol of a table perfectly set up.
Our Knife Holders are perfectly balanced, very elegant and in perfect shape, and extremely heavy, hence very stable.

The Hallmark is Minerve 1 -1st title (950/1000) – Hence 1838 to 1919 – Paris

The Makers Mark is for Amelie CARDEILHAC, and shows an A and a C topped by a medal of honor with a crescent below.
The story of the House of Cardeilhac deserves a bit more details.
The founder of the dynasty was Vital Antoine Cardeilhac who registered his marks in 1817, then 1820 and finally cancelled them in 1851. a wonderful artist Cardeilhac very early on specialized in Cutlery and is considered the reason for the change the knives would see by the second part of the century (going from round edges to tapered).
His son, Armand Edouard took over in 1851 and in turn schooled his own son Ernest, into the trade. Ernest CARDEILHAC managed the establishment starting 1855, until he retired in1904, leaving his workshop to his sons and daughter.
The Mark we have here is for Amelie CARDILHAC and for Maison Cardeilhac.
The HOUSE OF CARDEILHAC was active until 1951 when it was absorbed by CHRISTOFLE.

H: 1.37"W: 1.25/L3.34"Reference number: SST-287